Cabinet clears ordinance to save Harak Rawat
Drops 5 corporations, including the three held by the MLA, from the ambit of office of profit

Dehradun, April 13
With the state BJP threatening to move court on the issue of a Congress MLA heading three offices of profit, the state Cabinet has cleared an ordinance dropping five corporations, including the three held by the legislator, from the ambit of office of profit.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had yesterday sent an ordinance to this effect to Governor Aziz Qureshi for his ratification after getting the approval of his Cabinet colleagues, official sources said here today.

If the Governor put his seal of approval on the ordinance, the five offices named in it would stand out of the ambit of office of profit, they said.

The five offices which the ordinance drops from the ambit of offices of profit with retrospective effect include Tarai and Seed Development Corporation, Uttarakhand Poorva Sainik Kalyan Nigam Ltd and Seed Certification Agency, all of which are headed by Congress MLA and state Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat.

The state government has been under attack from the Opposition over the issue with the BJP threatening to move court if Rawat did not resign or was not ousted from the state Assembly for heading these office of profit despite being an MLA and a minister.

Demanding his disqualification from the House, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Bhatt said Rawat, who represents the Rudraprayag seat, had been heading these office of profit in violation of the Constitution.

Bhatt, who had recently approached the Governor seeking Rawat's disqualification from the state Assembly on the ground, also asked Qureshi not to give his seal of approval to the ordinance terming it unjustified as it was meant to shield the minister.

"The circumstances don't call for an ordinance. Ordinances are brought in extraordinary circumstances and not to help a minister continue in office," Bhatt said.

Reminding the Governor of the memorandum through which the BJP had drawn his attention to the issue, Bhatt asked him to treat it as an FIR in the matter and not to ratify the ordinance which drops these offices from the ambit of office of profit with retrospective effect. —PTI

Anna Hazare to be in Dehradun on April 16
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 13
Anti-corruption crusader and Gandhian Anna Hazare will be in Dehradun on April 16.

Addressing a press conference here today, state president of the Jantantra Morch SS Pangtey said Anna Hazare, accompanied by former Army Chief Gen VK Singh, will be addressing a public meeting at Parade Ground, Dehradun, on April 16 at 5 pm.

He said the public meeting was aimed at sensitising the society towards the fast spreading evil of corruption.

He said Anna was of the strong view that the general public must be sensitised and made to collectively stand against corruption in the country.

He admitted that the visit of Anna to the state would also boost the anti-corruption crusade. Secretary of the morcha PC Thapliyal said the morcha was hopeful of a large scale gathering at Parade Ground. He said Anna was the only hope left in the country.

He said earlier in the day on April 16, Anna would also hold a public meeting at Roorkee. Social activists Jagmohan Mehndirutta and Puja Bahukundi were also present at the press conference.

Need to focus on Gurukul education: Experts
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, April 13
The two-day 106th annual day function celebrations of the century-old Gurukul Maha Vidyalaya, Jwalapur, started here today.

Ex Vice-Chancellor of Gurukul Maha Vidyalya Ved Prakash Shastri presided over the opening ceremony of the function.

He said Vedas had an age-old treasure of deep knowledge. He highlighted the necessity of the Gurukul mode of education in the current scenario.

Gurukul Maha Vidyalaya and Gurukul Ayurvedic Pharmacy was founded by Swami Darshananand Maharaj a century ago in Haridwar.

“The individual verses contained in the four Vedas are known as ‘mantras’. Veda means knowledge in Sanskrit and they truly are storehouse of knowledge,” said Shastri.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Dr Hari Gopal Shastri, shed light on the century-old history and achievements of Gurukul Maha Vidyalaya.

Referring to founder of Gurukul Maha Vidyalya Swami Darshananand Saraswati, Dr Gopal Shastri said there was a need for the Gurukul mode of moral education at the time when western education and cultural influence was diverting the vision of the younger generation.

A Vedic and yoga convention was also held today. A character-building and poetry convention will be held tomorrow.

Dr Ashok Kumar Chauhan, Chetra Pal Singh Chauhan, Yogendra Singh Chauhan, Dr Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi, Sachidhanand Shastri, Professor Jay Deo, Pt Prakash Shastri and Dr Suresh Chand Tyagi were present on the occasion.

Chamoli dedicates his nomination to people
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 13
Though it is 2013, it may well have been the repeat of 2008 for BJP’s mayoral candidate and incumbent Vinod Chamoli. As often happens with him, his opponents within the party had again come together to oust him hours before the ticket distribution.

The moment of strife was reminiscent of 2008. At that time too, the backing of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri had helped him in getting the ticket. This time around as well, the scene was no different, except that the overwhelming support of the outgoing BJP councillors and party workers helped him knock the stuffing out of his opponents.

“More than anything else, these incidents have reinforced my faith in the people. I am a people’s person. The way the grass-root workers and the councillors rallied in my favour speaks volumes about the perception they carry about me. It would not be wrong for me to say that their overwhelming support tipped the scales in my favour for the second time. Essentially, my nomination is dedicated to the people and I had no role to play,” said Chamoli.

It is his role as a political leader with the sound mass appeal that has been put to test again and again and expectedly so, it has come good. So far, he has come up trumps in all the civic body elections that he has fought. “My political career took deep roots during the statehood struggle when I was jailed for a period of one year ten months. Essentially that period gave me an inner strength and resolve to take up causes no matter what the consequences may be,” he added.

In fact during his stint as Mayor (2008-2013) of Dehradun, Chamoli locked horns with his own BJP government on the issue of hoarding policy. The matter reached a head when even the senior leadership in the state BJP asked him to retreat but far from retreating Chamoli knocked the doors of the high court which left the leaders chaffing. “The issue was in the interest of the city and the corporation, the courts, too, ruled in our favour. At that point in time, people may have found my way of functioning abrasive but I like fair play and justice. I may even have paid a price for these actions during the last Assembly elections when I was denied the party ticket from Dharampur,” said Chamoli.

With that same determination, Chamoli is looking ahead to the future and would like to see the plans that were envisaged during his tenure as Mayor, finally taking shape in the coming years. “We have pushed for the widening of Chakrata Road, Arhat Bazaar, Raipur Road and other areas and people would be able to access them in the coming days. But a lot more needs to be done. We are aware that the Congress government is in power and has failed the people miserably. If we are re-elected, you would see me agitating on the roads for the betterment of the city against the Vijay Bahuguna-led government. I like nothing better than a struggle and would not hesitate to take to the streets,” averred Vinod Chamoli.

Face of the week

Vinod Chamoli, born October 24, 1961, was elected vice-president of the city unit of the BJP in 1988. He was a councillor of the state Municipal Council from 1987-91. He became chairperson of the Dehradun Municipal Council in 1997. He played a role in the upgrading of status of the Dehradun Municipal Council to corporation. He could not participate in the first election to the Dehradun Corporation in 2003 as the seat was reserved for a woman candidate. He won the mayor election on the BJP ticket in 2008 and is again fighting on the BJP ticket.

Four students feared drowned

Rishikesh, April 13
Four students are feared drowned in the Ganga off the Neem beach in Tehri district.

The students, in their 20s, seem to have been swept away by the strong currents of the river when their raft turned turtle at 4 pm, about 22 km from the Muni-ki-Reti police station off the beach, the SHO said adding that, they were BTech students of Kurukshetra University. The bodies are yet to be recovered.

The students feared drowned are Pankaj Yadav (20) from Kurukshetra, Nishchint (25) from Jammu, Vishal Yadav (20) from Gurgaon and Prashant (20) from Faridabad.

They had hired a raft from Bhagwan Singh rafting camp at Neem beach along the banks of the Ganga. - —PTI