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Return to Cong, Virbhadra asks former party leaders
BJP in Catch-22 situation over Ravi
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Cong, BJP candidates face rebellion in Bilaspur
Police chiefs yet to identify history sheeters
Congress makes efforts to recapture Arki seat
Congress ticket seekers threaten to resign
Balnatah quits BJP, to contest on HLP ticket from Kasumpti
16 polling booths hyper sensitive
Ensure compliance with model code of conduct, parties told
Denied Congress ticket, women aspirants upset
Only 32 women won in 12 Assembly elections!
Former BJP candidate Brij Lal joins Congress
Refrain from taking bribe during poll, says DC
Congress rebel Rajesh to contest as Independent
Remove hoardings, images of Central schemes, EC urged
Nandini begins Cong campaign in Dalhousie
Denial of ticket to Tulsi Ram triggers revolt in BJP
CPM wants CBI probe into DLF project
World Mental Health Day today
Morcha, VHP protest ‘mild’ punishment to IIT students
Stone of dispute redressal centre laid
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Return to Cong, Virbhadra asks former party leaders
Shimla, October 9 Welcoming former state National Students Union of India president Atul Sharma back into the party fold at a function in the Congress Bhavan here today, he said those who believed in the Congress ideology always remained supportive of the party and it was time for all Congress-minded people to wage a united battle against the BJP. He said he firmly believed that personal differences among leaders should not be allowed to undermine the party’s larger interests and it was for this reason that he invited Mankotia back into the party. “My personal differences with him are common knowledge, but I have left all this behind and reinducted him in the interests of the party. His entry will boost electoral prospects of the party,” he said while explaining the reasons behind the unexpected decision. Regarding the permission granted to Priyanka Gandhi for the purchase of land in the state, he said there was nothing wrong. He said the clearance granted to Bamloe Builders with alleged DLF links under the Apartment Act for raising a colony was scandalous. The nod for the purchase of land, approval of building plans and other mandatory permission, which would have taken at least six months in normal course, were granted in a day, he pointed out. It could not have happened without the involvement of high-ups, he claimed. Virbhadra Singh was not happy with the poll schedule announced by the Election Commission. He said the entire process had been compressed into a month and there was very little time for candidates to campaign, considering the difficult topography. The commission, it seemed, had not taken the geographical features of the state into account while finalising the programme, he said. It did not bother him much as he had established a rapport with the people, being in the thick of politics for the last five decades, he added. Regarding the demand for declaring the chief ministerial candidate beforehand, he said the issue was misconstrued. All that he had been emphasising was that it would be a good idea in the changed circumstances for the party to take a decision in principle to announce the chief ministerial candidate wherever Assembly elections were held so that people knew whom they were voting for, he clarified. |
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BJP in Catch-22 situation over Ravi
Thural, represented thrice consecutively by Ravi, has been scrapped in delimitation. It has been divided between Jaisinghpur, Sulah and Jwalamukhi. The maximum area of the former constituency is in Jaisinghpur, which has been reserved for a Scheduled Caste legislator. Jwalamukhi and Sulah are represented by Shanta Kumar loyalists, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala and state BJP general secretary
Vipin Parmar. Ravi has been staking his claim from Jwalamukhi, represented by Dhawala. Both Dhawala and his mentor Shanta Kumar are opposing fielding Ravi from Jwalamukhi tooth and nail. Shanta Kumar had openly attacked Ravi a few days back for exerting pressure for the Jwalamukhi ticket. He had accused Ravi of getting cases filed against him. Dhawala had threatened to contest as an Independent if he was denied the party ticket from Jwalamukhi. He did not yield despite Chief Minister PK Dhumal’s efforts to persuade him. In such a scenario, Ravi was offered the party ticket from Dehra. Ravi was not keen to contest from Dehra as he did not have a base in that constituency. Ravi’s supporters held a meeting in Palampur recently and urged him to contest as an Independent if denied the party ticket. Sources said Ravi enjoyed Dhumal’s confidence and had emerged as a Rajput leader in Kangra. If Ravi decides to play spoilsport after being denied the party ticket, he will harm the BJP’s prospects in Palampur, Jaisinghpur, Sulah and Jwalamukhi. If Ravi is allotted the party ticket, it will annoy Kangra stalwart Shanta Kumar. The senior leadership of the party will hold a meeting tomorrow. It will be attended by Dhumal and Shanta Kumar. A section of BJP leaders has advocated accommodating Ravi from Palampur at the cost of sitting legislator Parveen Sharma. This can only take place with Shanta Kumar’s
consent as Palampur is his hometown. |
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Cong, BJP candidates face rebellion in Bilaspur
Bilaspur, October 9 In the Congress in Bilaspur Sadar, one of the 32 Congress ticket seekers Jitender Chandel, member of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) and known supporter of former HPCC president Kaul Singh, told mediapersons here today that there was resentment among Congress men in the constituency. Some of them, including former MLA Tilak Raj Sharma, zila parishad member Basant Ram Sandhu and Col AP Gauttam (retd), president, local constituency unit, and another supporter of Kaul, decided that the party high command be urged to change the ticket. Chandel said if the ticket was not given to him, he would contest as an Independent. The BJP here is already bogged down between the three main candidates and has failed to decide its candidate yet. The three candidates are three-time MP Suresh Chandel, BJP state executive member Subhash Thakur and Subhash Sharma. In Jhandutta, Vijay Kaushal, zila parishad member and grandson of former MLA from here late Nikkoo Ram, has declared to challenge Congress candidate Biru Ram Kishore. In the Ghumarwin constituency, former Parliamentary Secretary Kashmir Singh Thakur, a Virbhadra supporter, has declared to fight the election against official party candidate Rajesh Dharmani, MLA. The BJP is facing challenge from its own top leader Vikram Sharma who held a meeting of his supporters yesterday and some of his supporters resigned from their posts and urged the high command to either give the ticket to Vikram before October 15, or he would contest as an Independent. Vikram is a strong votary of MP Anurag Thakur. Another BJP leader Rakesh Chopra, vice-president, Ghumarwin Nagar Parishad, has already declared his candidature against official BJP candidate Rajender Garga. In Kot Kehloor, Congress candidate Ram Lal Thakur, a former minister, is being challenged by zila parishad member Hoshiar Singh Thakur. |
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Virbhadra has no confidence in state employees: Dhumal
Una, October 9 Responding to media queries regarding Virbhadra Singh’s letter to the Election Commission seeking the transfer of many officers, including Deputy Commissioners, Dhumal said the HPCC president did not have confidence in the state bureaucracy and employees and even in the party leadership. The HPCC president had targeted state-cadre employees in particular in his complaint to the Election Commission, Dhumal alleged. He said the state bureaucracy was working honestly and efficiently and there was no reason to express disbelief in it. Dhumal alleged that the Congress had complained against the recent dearness allowance instalment for state employees and retirees. It illustrated that the Congress would not deliver the benefits extended to employees by the current government if it was voted to power, he claimed. The Congress government at the Centre was also against the interests of the common man, he alleged. The price of domestic liquefied petroleum gas cylinders had been increased to over Rs 800 in one go and people were not getting cylinders as companies were left free to make profit, he claimed. The prices of diesel had also been increased and corporate houses were making huge profit at the cost of the common man, he alleged. He claimed that Congress leaders were levelling baseless allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The fact that the present government had delivered good governance was illustrated from the awards given by the Congress-led government at the Centre for the implementation of the 20-Point Programme, he said. Dhumal further said the present government had given benefits to each resident of the state. Every resident of the state had got free compact fluorescent lamp bulbs that reduced power bills of people and earned carbon credit for the state, he pointed out. He said differences over the allotment of ticket would be resolved in tomorrow’s meeting. Since the chances of the party winning again were high, many aspirants were eager to get the BJP ticket, he claimed. The party could allot only 68 ticket and other leaders would be accommodated after the party was voted again to power, he said. Dhumal said many senior leaders of the party, including Nitin Gadkari, LK Advani, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, would address rallies in the coming days. Though Narendra Modi was busy with upcoming elections in Gujarat, the BJP would try to bring him to Himachal Pradesh for campaigning, he added. |
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Police chiefs yet to identify history sheeters
Mandi, October 9 But many district police chiefs have yet to identify them and put them on surveillance to ensure a free and fair poll in the state. The Tribune inputs revealed that many districts have yet to identify the “history sheeters and those against whom the police has made personal files”. The history sheeters and criminals are not only used by candidates to influence voters, but also to create some kind of “electoral terror” in favour of the candidate. Candidates use the history sheeters to distribute consumer items like mobile phones, pressure cookers, sewing machines among gullible villagers. They are also used to disperse liquor in key polling stations to tilt the balance in the favour of candidates. After getting direction from Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) VS Sampath, the Mandi police has taken a lead putting 149 history sheeters identified in the district on surveillance. The police has also asked the public to send their complaints or information on all criminals and history sheeters who indulge in unfair play during the elections, said SP, Mandi, Abhishek Dular. “We have asked SHOs to keep a tab on the activities of history sheeters,” he added. The history sheeters work for candidates who pay them money regardless of their political affiliation, said a political observer here. But many districts from Kullu to Shimla and Bilaspur to Kangra have yet to start an exercise to identify history sheeters and put them on surveillance, observers said. If the history sheeters, other persons, a candidate or a party worker is caught with cash or other items that are not accounted for, the whole proceedings will be videographed in the presence of the magistrate. “He/she will be booked under the IPC and the Representation of Peoples Act as may be the case and the CEC can disqualify the candidate as well,” said district election officer-cum-DC Mandi Devesh Kumar. ID Bhandari, DGP, said the surveillance had been stepped up and SHOs concerned in all 100 police stations in the state have been directed to keep a watch on history sheeters and other criminals with personal files. Who is a history sheeter
A history sheeter is the one against whom over two FIRs are registered and is convicted or facing criminal charges. There are over 1,000 history sheeters in the state, the police says |
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BJP govt most corrupt: Rattan
Kangra, October 9 He was taken in a motorcade to his constituency Jwalamukhi. The large number of vehicles left the Matour-Shimla national highway blocked for a few hours. It took more than three hours for the motorcade to cover the 15-km stretch. Talking to mediapersons, Rattan claimed that Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala, close to Shanta Kumar, was unnerved by the public response to the Congress in the constituency. He said he was certain to win the elections as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had neither policies favouring the people, nor programmes to help He alleged that the BJP government was the most corrupt the state had ever witnessed. He charged the government with exploiting the poor and Dalits and traumatising state government employees. He charged the BJP government with failure on all fronts, including a new big project for Kangra district. He was critical of the
government for encouraging nepotism. He asked the people to be alert of the BJP, which was a divided house. Rattan is a confidant of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. |
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Congress makes efforts to recapture Arki seat
Solan, October 9 Confident of winning back the seat from the BJP, Awasthy said the area had remained neglected by the BJP as scores of public health institutions were not only bereft of staff, but schools also continued to be run from dilapidated buildings, despite the laying of foundation stones. Awasthy, who opened his election office at Darlaghat today, met people at Beral panchayat, which is the constituency’s most backward panchayat. He also visited other panchayats, including Kander, Bagha, Chakar Barihar and Navgaon, and urged people to extend their support. The Congress had lost this seat to the BJP after the sitting MLA was denied ticket forcing him to contest as an Independent. The Congress had lost the seat to the BJP in the triangular contest that followed. Eager to wrest back the seat which the Congress had held on three consecutive terms, Awasthy is contesting his maiden election now. He had earlier remained a municipal councillor and is presently the Block Congress Committee president. Awasthy said with the youth failing to find suitable jobs, the BJP had failed to safeguard their interest and this would be his top priority. Pitted against sitting MLA Govind Ram, who has risen from being an employee leader, the Congress was now banking on the anti-incumbency factor as well as the lack of development of this area. The BJP on the other hand believes that developmental works, including laying of roads, will help them win this seat for a second time. Sharma, however, faces opposition from a section of the BJP who were desirous of getting the party ticket and assumptions were rife that Asha Parihar, member, zila parishad, could contest as an Independent after denial of the ticket. Sharma says the anti-people Central government policies, price rise, corruption in the UPA regime were his main poll plank. He also met people at Arki, Darlaghat and Dodi villages in the constituency today. |
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Congress ticket seekers threaten to resign
Kullu, October 9 They declared that if the party high command did not review its decision in three days’ time they would resign from the party. Supporters of Dhami, including Negi, Prem Sharma, Kamla Prarthi, Chander Sen, Mahavir Bhargav and Naveen Tanvar, announced a joint front and decided that Dhami would contest as an Independent from Manali. On the other hand, Satya Prakash and his supporters also rebelled against Sunder today and announced that his wife Prem Lata Thakur, a member of the zila Parishad, will contest from Kullu Sadar. Dhami, who had joined the Congress last month, was a hot contender from Manali. Negi has also sought the ticket from Manali. Both are supporters of Virbhadra Singh. But Bhuvneshwar, son of late Rajkishan Gaur, who ruled the Congress politics in Kullu for decades, managed to get the ticket as “he was supported by Leader of Opposition Vidya Stokes and Virbhadra in what turned out to be a mutual understanding between them,” party sources said. Dhami and Negi hold joint meeting at Katrain, the ancestral village of Gaur, today and announced a joint front along with their supporters. They later told mediapersons that one of them would jump into the fray if the party high command does not change the ticket. In the second meeting, Satya Prakash, the former minister, who was also a staunch supporter of Virbhadra, but was denied the ticket as he does not fit in the party ticket allotment criteria, held a meeting with his supporters at Bhuntar and decided to rebel against Sundar Thakur, fielded from Kullu Sadar, who has been blowing hot and cold with both Virbhadra Singh and Kaul Singh. Satya Prakash used to contest from Banjar. But some of the panchayats from Banjar were shifted to Kullu Sadar after delimitation and he decided to contest from Kullu. His wife Prem Lata was also in the ticket fray, but she also being a first-timer, could not match the lobbing done by Sundar, said insiders. |
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Balnatah quits BJP, to contest on HLP ticket from Kasumpti
Shimla, October 9 A Shanta Kumar loyalist, Balnatah had been on the warpath with the party in general and Dhumal in particular. He announced his resignation from the BJP today. “It was not an easy decision as I have dedicated my life to the party, but the sad state of affairs in the BJP left me with no choice but to call it quits,” said an emotional Balnatah. “For the last two years, I kept raising all issues at the party level and before the media. I have decided to contest Assembly elections from Kasumpti and expose corrupt leaders who have brought a bad name to the state and the BJP,” he stated. He added that he had applied for the Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) ticket from Kasumpti and would file his nomination papers on October 16. Balnatah had caused discomfiture to the party in the last three years by not only leveling serious charges of corruption against his own regime, but seeking a change of leadership as well. He had written letters to party chief Nitin Gadkari, seeking a change in leadership, terming it as the only means of bringing the party back to power. He contested the 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008 elections against Virbhadra Singh from Rohru and won in the bypoll after the former Chief Minister vacated the seat on being elected to the Lok Sabha from Mandi. “Neither did I ask Shanta Kumar before deciding to quit the party, nor did he try to stop me,” he said in reply to a query if he had taken his mentor into confidence. He added that he had no grudge against Shanta Kumar, but had asked many others in the BJP who were in touch with him to come out in the open and raise their voice against corrupt forces. He said the five-year BJP rule was marred by state-sponsored corruption, with the land mafia, corporate houses and politicians having a strong nexus. “The BJP and Congress are the two sides of the same coin as far as corruption is concerned,” he claimed. “The third front will hold the balance in the elections. It will be a repeat of 1998, when no party got a majority,” he predicted. He had been issued a show-cause notice by the BJP, to which he had replied, but the party had not initiated any action against him. With his proximity to HLP leaders and former BJP colleagues Maheshwar Singh and Mahinder Sofat, it was a foregone conclusion that he would join them before the elections. |
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16 polling booths hyper sensitive
Palampur, October 9 Likewise, in the Palampur constituency, Dadh, Lahala, Ghuggar, Banuri and Kandwari polling stations had been identified as hyper sensitive. He said to maintain law and order, extra force would be deployed in all these police stations. The SDM said keeping in view incidents that had taken place in earlier polls, the EC had taken extra care for peaceful polling in these polling stations. Rupali Thakur, another Returning Officer, said after delimitation, the Sulaha had emerged the largest Assembly segment of this region with a total of voters 86,107 voters. The EC had set up 129 polling stations at 112 places. She said this Assembly segment was purely a rural segment as there was no urban population here. As many as 387 polling officers were being deputed in this segment. In Palampur there were 61,886 voters and the EC had set up 86 polling stations which would be manned by 258 election officials. |
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Ensure compliance with model code of conduct, parties told
Mandi, October 9 As directed by Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath, Devesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, who is also the District Election Officer, and Abhishek Dular, SP, Mandi, yesterday cautioned parties and candidates to ensure compliance with model code of conduct. The DC said each party and candidate had to maintain expenditure register and the SDM-cum-returning officer in each constituency would monitor the activities of each party and candidate on a daily basis and file the compliance report. They would also make voters aware and ask them to vote as per CEC directions. No candidate could exceed Rs 11 lakh limit on election expenditure and he would be monitored. If star campaigners used his name or poster on stage and through social media and used commercial and private vehicles carrying his banners and posters, the expenditure would be included in the candidate’s account. No candidate or party could take more than 10 vehicles in a row to the rally venue at a time, he said. “Rally venues have been notified and school grounds can be used where no ground is available, but after school hours or on holidays,” he said. Paid news in the print media was banned and action would be taken against candidate, party, media house or persons involved in it, he warned. Paid news or advertisements on TV channels and radio stations or on social networking sites would be monitored and notice and action issued to offenders. The candidate and party had to seek prior permission to use loud speakers and venues. The venues would be videographed. Defacement of public property would attract action, he cautioned. He said 5,200 staff and 300 vehicles were on election duty. The Mandi SP said history sheeters were being monitored. Remote polling station would have wireless sets, he added. |
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Denied Congress ticket, women aspirants upset
Hamirpur, October 9 Of the four, Vidya Stokes from Thoeg, Anita Verma from Sujanpur and Asha Kumari from Dalhousie are established leaders. The only new entrant, Tara Thakur from Seraj, is a daughter of a former Congress leader. Expressing her displeasure over the denial of ticket at the last moment, Promila Kumari, who had applied for the ticket from Bhoranj, said, “Injustice has been meted out to a woman candidate. Party workers in this constituency have urged Congress leaders to change the candidate. I hope that Sonia Gandhi will do justice to us.” Another woman aspirant, on the condition of anonymity, said, “It is strange that Congress leaders, who are talking of giving 33 per cent reservation to women, have ignored our claims. Only four women have been allotted the ticket.” “They want women votes and women workers, but when the question of giving us the party ticket arises, they shirk from it,” she added. Some prominent women who had applied for the Congress ticket are Vidya Zar from Badsar, Champa Thakur from Mandi Sadar, Promila Kumari from Bhoranj, Jianab Chandel from Arki, Madhu Sud and Manbhari Devi. |
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Only 32 women won in 12 Assembly elections!
Shimla, October 9 Even as there is talk of providing 33 per cent reservation in Parliament and Assemblies for women, they have made up barely 3 per cent in Himachal Pradesh in the last 12 Assembly elections, on an average. Their number in the state Assembly has not exceeded six (1998) till date, with the total number of women legislators elected in the last 12 Assembly elections being merely 32, a majority being the same old faces. Devendra Kumari, erstwhile queen of Chamba, became the first woman legislator in Himachal Pradesh when she won the Territorial Council elections in 1962 from Chamba. The first Assembly in 1952 and the Territorial Council of 1957 did not have any woman legislator. In the 1972 elections, three women, Padma from Bhattiyat, Chandresh Kumari from Bamsan and Sarla Sharma from Kutlehar, were elected to the Assembly. Padma and Chandresh Kumari were from families of erstwhile rulers of Chamba and Kangra, respectively, while Sharma had a launchpad as her husband was a former legislator. Vidya Stokes made her political debut in a bypoll in 1974 following her husband Lal Chand Stokes’ death. Making an exception to the rule was the entry of Shyama Sharma, a fiery and dynamic young leader who made her political debut in the 1977 elections from Nahan as the Janata Party candidate. She was the lone, but vociferous, woman legislator in the Assembly, which heralded the emergence of the Janata Party and formation of the first non-Congress government in the state. The Assembly elections in 1982, 1985, 1990 and 1993 had three women legislatorss each. In 1993, another woman from a royal family, Chamba’s Asha Kumari, made her foray into politics from Banikhet and Viplove Thakur, daughter of Paras Ram and Sarla Sharma, both former legislators, won from Jaswan. The 1998 elections saw the number of women legislators swell to six, four of the Congress and two of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Urmil Thakur, daughter-in-law of BJP stalwart Jagdev Chand, won from Hamirpur and Sarveen Chaudhary, wife of an Army officer, was elected from Shahpur. In 2003 and 2007, the number of women legislators came down to four. Vinod Chandel, wife of former legislator Ram Pratap Chandel, won from Doon in Solan in 2007. Only a few women have found favour with the two main parties this time. The Congress has fielded only four women, Vidya Stokes, Asha Kumari, Tara Thakur and Anita Verma. The BJP has fielded five women so far, Renu Chaddha, Vinod Chandel, Urmil Thakur, Renu Chaddha and Sheila Kumari , with a decision on 12 seats pending. |
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Former BJP candidate Brij Lal joins Congress
Shimla, October 9 He said the party had ignored his claim to the ticket and fielded an inexperienced candidate who had not made any contribution to the party. “The party has done injustice by denying me the ticket though I was instrumental in strengthening the party in Rampur and taking its vote share up to 20,000,” he said. He said several supporters left the party in protest against the shabby treatment meted out to him. “Expressing faith in the leadership of former Chief Minister and state Congress chief Virbhadra Singh, I have joined the Congress along with hundreds of my supporters,” he said. The BJP has given the ticket from Rampur to PS Draik, a bureaucrat serving as Ayurveda Director, who sought retirement last month to star his political innings. |
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Refrain from taking bribe during poll, says DC
Hamirpur, October 9 He said flying squads had been formed to register cases against both the giver and the receiver of
bribe. Rajinder Singh has requested all citizens to refrain from taking bribe during the elections and any complaint in this regard can be made on toll free number 1800-180-8018. |
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Congress rebel Rajesh to contest as Independent
Dharamsala, October 9 “In case I am elected, I will devote my entire salary to the service of the people of Kangra,” he said. He was annoyed at the allotment of the ticket to former legislator Surinder Kumar, alias Kaku. Rajesh is a son of the late Congress leader Bal Krishan Sharma. He runs Balaji Hospital in Kangra. The family holds clout in the Kangra region. |
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Remove hoardings, images of Central schemes, EC urged
Shimla, October 9 State BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt in a complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has pointed out that the commission must not adopt double standards by seeking removal of only hoardings and images of state government schemes and leaders. “Abiding by the order of the EC, the state government has removed all hoardings of various welfare schemes ever since the model code of conduct has come into force from October 3,” he said. Dutt said such hoardings could be seen across the state on school buildings, at highways and market places without permission. “The fact that no effort has been made to remove these hoardings also reflects that some officials in the Election Department are adopting double standards,” he alleged. “The decision of the EC to ban use of carry bags with the image of Vajpayee was not right as polythene was banned in the state and images of national leaders have been put up at several places and removing these does not seem appropriate,” Dutt added. |
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Nandini begins Cong campaign in Dalhousie
Dalhousie, October 9 HPCC district spokesperson Dharam Malhotra said here yesterday that Raj Kumari Ravi Nandini, daughter of Asha Kumari, was spearheading the election campaign from Dalhousie enthusiastically. A meeting of Congress workers of Bhandal-Kihar zone was held under the chairmanship of District Congress Committee general secretary Dharam Singh Pathania at remote Jwans village. |
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Denial of ticket to Tulsi Ram triggers revolt in BJP
Chamba, October 9 They decided not to support official candidate Jia Lal. They passed a resolution to field Tulsi Ram’s wife Leela Sharma as an Independent if the BJP did not review its decision. The BJP high command would be apprised of the decision, BJP sources said. Leela Sharma is zila parishad member from Poolan ward in Bharmour at present. |
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CPM wants CBI probe into DLF project
Shimla, October 9 “The previous Shimla municipal corporations, led by the Congress and BJP state governments, were responsible for illegally allowing Bemloe Construction Company, a proxy company for the DLF, to construct the apartments,” he alleged. He said clearance was granted to the project in a single day, violating the norms. “The permission to construct the road was given by the state government under the guise of facility being provided to villagers surrounding the DLF colony, but the memorandum was signed by 20 local residents whose signatures had been forged,” he alleged. Panwar termed this as one of the “biggest scandals” of the state in which the state had not only been robbed of the money, but it had also created a real estate mafia for which both the Congress and the BJP were responsible. “The seriousness of the crime must be taken into consideration after the revelations made by members of the Civil Society into the DLF-Congress connections and the meteoric rise of one of the member of the Gandhi family,” he said. He added that on similar lines to the Central connection, there exist a strong bond between the DLF and one of the BJP families in the state. |
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World Mental Health Day today
Kangra, October 9 He said depression had no ethnic, racial, geographic and socio- economic bias, but there was a significant economic issue related to it because of the loss of the ability to perform normal activities. He was addressing patients, their attendants and students at the Tanda hospital to highlight the need for more attention to depression, a growing international crisis in connection with the 20th Annual World Mental Health Day to be held tomorrow. He said depression, if untreated, could lead to danger to self and others and, maybe, suicide. Sukhjit said it was important to differentiate between normal sadness and depression and added that everyone was sad at one time or another, but depression was a clinical issue with no fault of the person experiencing depression and no one should be embarrassed or ashamed to have depression. He said World Mental Health Day 2012 was aimed at encouraging governments and civil society around the world to address depression as a widespread illness that affected individuals, their families and their peers, and recognise that it was a treatable condition. He said people should be alert to the early signs of depressive disorder, and it could affect anyone, from young people to seniors. Now an estimated 350 million people globally were affected by depression. This alarming figure was a wakeup call for all to address this global, non-communicable disease. He said a solution for depression at hand was efficacious and cost-effective treatment which were available to improve the health and lives of millions of people around the world. Without intervention, symptoms could last for weeks, months or years. This disorder would prevent people from conducting normal lives, such as maintaining a job, attending school and performing other normal functions, Sukhjit said. Individuals with depression lost interest in activities they would normally enjoy, and other health issues could arise, he added.
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Morcha, VHP protest ‘mild’ punishment to IIT students
Mandi, October 9 They termed the action taken by the IIT administration as mild. Led by Lakshmender Guleria of the MBM, they raised slogans in front of the IIT gate, demanding strict action. In a press note, the IIT authorities stated that they condemned the act and disciplinary action was taken against the 13 erring students. They were fined Rs 2,500 each and barred from IIT activities for a year, they added. The VHP activists were annoyed as the IIT authorities ‘tried to justify’ the behaviour by stating that the private party went out of control due to
youthful exuberance. Though the scene was withdrawn from YouTube after protests, the issue remained unresolved. The IIT authorities said they had intimated the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police so that the
students were put under surveillance. |
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Stone of dispute redressal centre laid
Dharamsala, October 9 Parties involved in long litigation in family or personal disputes would be given an option to resolve their disputes through the ADR centre. The function was also attended by Judge-cum-member secretary, HP State Legal Services Authority, DK Sharma and district Judge-cum-member secretary HP Lok Adalats JS Mahant and District and Sessions Judge, Kangra, Sureshwar Thakur.
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Dharamsala, October 9