Chandigarh, January 13
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today batted for a strong Lokayukta in “corruption-ridden” Haryana to provide an honest and transparent administration.

“The current Lokayuta is a ‘nautanki (drama) as it has no powers and is toothless. Our first poll plank is an independent Lokayukta with investigation powers without any political interference,” senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said here today.

Party’s chief spokesman for Haryana Rajeev Godara termed an effective and empowered Lokayukta as the best antidote to widespread corruption in the state.

Coming down heavily on various acts of omission and commission of the Hooda Government, Yadav asserted that widespread corruption, nepotism in government jobs, anti-farmer land acquisition policies and change-of-land-use(CLU) licences to Hooda Government’s favourites would be some of the issues in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Claiming that the party would contest all 10 Lok Sabha and 90 assembly seats, Yadav asserted that party’s state organisation which played an important role in its victory in Delhi was geared up for the elections.

Discounting the role of caste in traditional society like Haryana, Yadav claimed though caste had been a dominant factor in state politics for the past 15-18 years, it had not always been the case. “In fact, when big issues arise as in the 1977, 1983 and 1996 elections, the people of Haryana did not vote on caste lines alone,” he stated.

On Khap panchayats, he said: "If a number of social disputes can be resolved without going to courts, then it is to be welcomed. However, if any such dispute resolution leads to coercion, violation of law of the land, it is unacceptable."

Asked under whose leadership the party will contest the assembly poll in Haryana, Yadav said the elections were still far away."Our first target is to fight the Lok Sabha poll, “ he said.

Yadav tried to play down the recent controversial statement of senior AAP leader Prashant Bhushan, claiming that the latter had made no reference to referendum on security forces in Naxal-hit areas. "He (Bhushan) made no reference to referendum on the security forces,” Yadav claimed.

About the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's comments on the AAP, Yadav said he was happy that the Gujarat Chief Minister was getting the time to pay attention to their outfit. "But we have not been able to get time (to react to what he said) as our attention is on one thing, which is how to end corruption in this country and empower common people.

Bhiwani, January 13
Insisting that people are eager to usher in a political change, the rebel Congress MP from Gurgaon, Rao Inderjit Singh, today said the kind of response BJP prime ministerial nominee and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is getting from across the country “reflects the mood of the people”.

“There is a strong anti incumbency factor in Haryana and at the Centre. The BJP is emerging as main alternative,” the rebel Congress leader told the reporters here.

He, however, admitted that the emergence of Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has “affected the existing political equation” to some extent.

“Any major impact of the AAP is yet to be gauged, but it seems to have tempered with the existing political equation,” Rao Inderjit said.

The rebel leader said in Haryana, bias in development was clearly visible in various regions and insisted that he would continue to strive for the betterment of common masses.

Rao Inderjit, who recently floated Haryana Insaf Manch, said he would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Gurgaon.

The leader has already opted out of the Congress and is weighing his options whether to join the BJP or any other political front.

He, meanwhile, supported the agitation by local panchayat comprising various organisations against hefty power bills and opposed the installation of pillar boxes.

Chandigarh, January 13
The BJP is contemplating replacing Jagdish Mukhi, a former Delhi MLA and in charge of the party’s Haryana affairs with former BJP President Nitin Gadkari. The issue will be put up for approval in the national executive meeting in Delhi on January 17 and then further discussed in the two-day national council meeting in the national capital from January 18 .

Senior BJP leaders have indicated that the party can get more seats in Haryana if the poll preparations are done well in advance. Haryana has 10 Lok Sabha seats and as per the existing agreement between the HJC and the BJP, the former is expected to contest 2 seats, leaving the rest for the BJP.

It is pertinent to mention that the HJC-BJP alliance was formulated when Gadkari was the BJP President. Gadkari is very familiar with Haryana and frequents the state often. He recently visited Sonepat and is expected to participate in the forthcoming Maratha War Memorial function at Panipat. Gadkari is also a member of the BJP’s national executive. After Narendra Modi, who was in charge of the Haryana BJP affairs from 1996-1999, the state has not had any strong leader who has watched the party’s activities from Delhi. The BJP high command feels that it is crucial to have a leader who understands Haryana well to minimise the impact of the AAP and other parties in the state. He is expected to be the likely choice for the slot.

In the past, most BJP leaders in charge of Haryana affairs like Shiv Raj Chauhan, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Vijay Goel, Vijayaraje Scindia, etc paid little heed as the BJP did not see the state’s role in formation of a BJP-lead government at the Centre. But this time the BJP is eyeing each and every seat across the country to maximise its chances of forming the next government. Unlike other parties, the BJP has only one state in charge (except for UP).

Speculation is rife that Congress MP from Gurgaon Rao Inderjit Singh may either join the BJP during the national executive meeting or contest the next parliamentary poll with BJP support. In the 2009 parliamentary poll, the BJP did not win any seat while the Congress won nine of the 10 seats while one went to HJC’s Kuldeep Bishnoi.

Chandigarh, January 13
Prominent educationist, social activist and former chairman of the Haryana Public Service Commission(HPSC) DR Chaudhry joined the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) here today.

Chaudhry was inducted into the party by Yogendra Yadav, a member of the Political Affairs Committee of the AAP by presenting the ceremonial “main hu aam aadmi” cap in the presence of Rajeev Godara, chief spokesman of the Haryana unit of the party.

Welcoming Chaudhry into the party, Yadav said people like Chaudhry personified probity in public life.

Chaudhry alleged that favouritism and nepotism was rampant in government jobs and the change of land use(CLU) had become a big money spinner in Haryana. “The AAP is a movement in the country to cleanse the system of ills plaguing it. I have joined this movement to make my humble contribution by acting as a foot solider,” Chaudhry, a former professor of Delhi University, added.

Karnal, January 13
Lohri was celebrated in honour of the girl child to create awareness against female foeticide here today. The programme 'Lohri beti ke naam' (Lohri in the name of the daughter) was organised by the National Integration Forum of Artists and Activists (NIFAA).

The organisers said 547 newborn girls were brought by their parents from various parts of the district to celebrate the festival. Inaugurating the festival, Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal said the programme was a good effort to give the message of gender equality.

The birth of a girl should be celebrated like that of a boy and the tendency of discriminating against the girl child even before birth should be shunned, she added. She exhorted the people to rise against the practice and change their mindset.

Former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said every effort should be made to improve the poor sex ratio. She said the campaign against female foeticide should be a mass movement. Women were not less than men and they should be equally treated, she said.

Bhukkal announced a sum of Rs 2.5 lakh from her funds. Six girls were awarded with a fixed deposit of Rs 5,100 each. Pritpal Singh Pannu, NIFAA chairman, said they were celebrating the function since 2006. Trilochan Singh of NIFAA urged parents to take special care of the health and education of their girl child.

Bhukkal said they had no competition with any party in Haryana. She said Aam Aadmi Party leaders should know the officers who had joined the party. Referring to the quashing of recruitment of JBT teachers, she said the decision of the court was always honoured. 

Bibipur (Jind), January 13
When a majority of villages celebrated the Lohri of their newborn sons today, Bibipur village in the district was abuzz with celebrations of the first Lohri of newborn girls. A special campaign to save the girl child has paid well in the village as it has seen the birth of 51 girls against 44 boys this year.

“Earlier, we used to think of a male child. But after our village launched a special campaign, we got to know about the importance of the girl child. Now, we do not see any difference between girls and boys,” said Rakesh, who celebrated the Lohri of his eight-month-old daughter.

Residents distributed sweets and other traditional items to celebrate the birth of their daughters while many celebrated the event by administering oath against female foeticide to newly married couples.

In 2010, the village led by sarpanch Sunil Jaglan decided to launch a fight against female foeticide. Apart from this, the villagers have been organising gram sabhas and seminars in the village to spread awareness about the girl child.

On August 12, 2012, the villagers decided that on Independence Day and Republic Day, the mother of a single girl child would hoist the National Flag.

“We believe that all human beings are equal. We have changed the mindsets of our villagers and the government can bring this change in all states if it takes serious steps. The gender ratio of our village has improved from 561 to 1,114 this year. We have done this with our consistent efforts,” said the sarpanch.

“I have two daughters. My younger daughter is eight-month-old while elder is two-year-old. I do not see any difference between a boy and a girl, ” said Surinder, a clerk with MDU in Rohtak.

Karnal, January 13
After Yamunanagar, the fungal disease yellow rust has now reached Hansu Majra, a village in Karnal.

A scientist from the Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), Karnal, and the Agriculture Department had visited a farm in the village recently and collected samples. The Agriculture Department today constituted a state, district and block-level team to monitor and assist the scientist of the DWR.

Dr Indu Sharma, Director, DWR, said on receiving information about yellow rust in Hansu Majra, their team members had visited the farm. The yellow rust was observed in the HD 2967 variety in the farm patches.

Earlier, yellow rust was found in the fields of three villages of Yamunanagar, Ropar, Hoshiarpur and Mohali of Punjab. The disease can spoil 80 per cent of crop.

The worst-affected areas are Punjab, Haryana, Jammu, western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Dr Davinder Singh Malik, Additional Director Extension (Agriculture), said, “The team will monitor the farm and stay in touch with the farmers. Propiconazole, a medicine, will be provided to the farmers on 50 per cent subsidy."

Yamunanagar, January 13
In a major relief to rice millers, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has extended relaxation in the per cent of damaged grains to three more districts.

"The relaxation in the percentage of damaged/slightly damaged grains has been upped to 4 per cent against the existing limit of 3 per cent, with full value cut in balance quantity of custom milled raw (CMR) rice extended to three more districts, namely Ambala, Panchkula and Guhla Chika, of Kaithal district," said a mail message sent to Principal Secretary, Food and Supplies Department, Haryana, by the Central Ministry recently.

The ministry had allowed the same relaxation to four districts, including Yamunanagar, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Palwal, last week.

The Union Government had imposed full value cut on damaged CMR and the rice millers of the state had lodged their protest against it.

"Full value cut imposed by the Central Government was unjustified. If the state government had not helped them in getting relaxation from the Centre, the rice milling industry would have been ruined," said Ashish Mehta, spokesman for the Rice Millers Association.

The government had sent teams of officials of Consumers Affairs Ministry, FCI and state government in the affected districts of the state and they had collected samples of CMR. On the base of the analysis of these rice samples, the government has decided to allow relaxation.

Rohtak, January 13
The management of the toll plaza at Makdauli village on the Rohtak-Panipat road has conveyed concerns of local residents to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and government authorities concerned and sought guidance as voices of protest against toll get louder.

Toll plaza manager IP Singh said they had been facing protests ever since the toll operations commenced a few days ago.

"Some protesters threatened the toll staff while some hit toll barriers with their vehicles and fled, refusing to pay toll ," he said.

The toll plaza manager said they had offered to get concessional monthly passes for commuters of nearby areas, but residents were adamant on a free ride.

"We have conveyed their concerns to the NHAI and the government authorities and sought their advice on the issue," he revealed.

Local residents as well as frequent commuters are up in arms against the authorities over the imposition of exorbitant toll on the Rohtak-Panipat road.

It may be pertinent to mention here that the commuters travelling in car/jeep etc have to shell out Rs 105 at the Makdauli toll barrier for a single journey and Rs 155 for return journey within 24 hours.

As if this was not enough, the commuters have to pay tax at yet another toll barrier located at Dahar village before they reach Panipat.

Rohtak-based professional SS Dhankhar said: “How can the imposition of Rs 155 for a return journey between Rohtak and Gohana be justified, given the short distance of just about 30 km?”

Fatehabad, January 13
Protests of the Parmanu Virodhi Morcha, a coalition of organisations opposed to nuclear energy, remained a low-key affair today. The INLD and the CPM demonstrated against the launch of the Gorakhpur nuclear power project.

Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha held a protest against the launch of the project without addressing the issue of setting up a conservation reserve for blackbucks and bluebulls living on the township site of the NPCIL.

Kumar Sundaram of the Coalition of Nuclear Disarmament and Peace had recently announced that the morcha was in touch with former Army Chief VK Singh and social activists Medha Patkar and Aruna Roy for the protest. None of them turned up today.

Some local activists of the morcha like Subhash Punia joined the demonstration by the INLD. Morcha activists claimed that local people held protests in neighbouring villages, Dhangar, Kajalheri, Khajuri and Kharakheri.

Chandigarh, January 13
Taking up a petition filed by a father for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred on his advocate son’s treatment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that the decision taken by the state government to treat unmarried and unemployed children, irrespective of their age, as dependents on their parents remained unchanged. “Conversely, upon a child having been married, the same would be a clear pointer towards being treated as independent”.

Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa added: “Even though the instructions governing free medical treatment to the dependents of officers/officials of the Haryana Government would require a liberal construction, yet they cannot be stretched to a level of absurdity”.

The ruling came on a petition filed by Ram Swaroop against Haryana and other respondents against the rejection of his claim for reimbursement of the medical expenses incurred on the treatment of his son, who had sustained head injuries in an accident in November, 2006

Going into the background of the instructions, Justice Dhindsa observed earlier instructions dated September 24, 1979, were liberalised and the facility of free treatment to the spouse of a retired officer/official was made available to the parents, minor children and even minor grandchildren provided, if they were fully dependent.

In August, 2005, unmarried and unemployed children were to be treated as dependent on their parents, but no age limit was fixed.

Thereafter, Haryana Commissioner and Secretary, Health Department, issued instructions in October, 2007, whereby a decision was taken that the facility of providing free medical treatment would be admissible to minor children/minor grand-children even after attaining the age of majority until they become independent subject to condition that the retired officer/official furnishes an affidavit to such effect and the drawing and disbursing officer concerned is completely satisfied with the same.

“Son of the petitioner was a major, a practising advocate and was already married as on the date of the accident. These are the conceded facts. No exception as such can be taken to the view of the District and Sessions Judge contained in the impugned order rejecting the claim of the petitioner for reimbursement of the medical expenses incurred upon the treatment of his son. No interference is called for. The writ petition is dismissed".

Chandigarh, January 13
Principal Secretary (Power) Devender Singh today gave directions to the officials of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam to constitute committees of consumers at the sub-divisional, divisional and circle level to ensure that complaints are addressed promptly. The committees will also hear complaints of consumers.

Devender Singh said in order to provide better services to the consumers, the power distribution utilities would constitute committees of 5 to 7 consumers at the sub-divisional, divisional and circle level. It would be in addition to other complaint redressal systems.

However, it would be ensured that there was no defaulting amount or any theft cases pending against the members of the committee.

The Principal Secretary said the committee members should be from different fields so that each category of consumers was represented.

The committee would ensure that the complaints are attended promptly and redressed within a week.

Meetings of the committees at the sub-divisional level would be held on every Monday, the meetings of the committees at the divisional level would be held on 2nd and 3rd Mondays of every month and meetings of the committees at the circle level would be held on 4th Monday of each month. The official concerned would hold the meeting.

Yamunanagar, January 13
Members of the Gujjar community met Deputy Commissioner Mandeep Singh Barar and Superintendent of Police Sibas Kaviraj today.

They sought stringent action against Anand Singh Rawal, naib tehsildar of Chhachhruali tehsil, who reportedly staged a drama of being kidnapped. The delegation led by former BJP MLA Kanwar Pal Gujjar included former sarpanches Ratan Singh Devdhar and Kanwar Pal, Devdhar sarpanch Omkar Singh and Bhilpura sarpanch Mangat Ram.

Kanwar Pal said the naib tehsildar had fooled the administration and people of the Gujjar community. He demanded that he should be punished and stringent action should taken against him.

Bhupal Singh Bhati, general secretary, Haryana Congress, and president, Haryana Gujjar Vikas Mahasabha, also met the SP.

Demanding action against Rawal, he said he should be boycotted by the Gujjar community as he had defamed the community with the false kidnap drama.

"He should be sacked as the naib tehsildar and a case of attempt to suicide should be registered against him," Bhati gave in writing.

Kaithal, January 13
Members of the Prajapat community today launched a protest against the alleged police inaction and demanded the arrest of all the accused named by the sect in a complaint following a clash in Baba Ladana last month.

A fight had erupted between the members of the Prajapat community and the Brahmins after the former accused some Brahmin representatives of eve-teasing.

The agitating members, who assembled at the Jawahar Park here, alleged that despite meeting with senior police officers, including the SP and the DSP, their demands had not been met.

Jind, January 13
Three days after a woman delivered a baby in a running bus, allegedly after staff of Narwana’s Civil Hospital, refused to admit her, the case took a turn as the woman’s brother failed to identify the staff, who turned her away.

The Narwana city police have registered a case against unidentified staff members of the hospital under Sections of 304A (causing death by negligence) and 336 (endangering life) of the Indian Penal Code on a complaint by 23-year-old Geeta and her family members. During police investigations on Monday the victim’s brother, Mahavir, failed to identify any doctor during an identification parade. Also, Geeta’s name was not found in the hospital register.

“We organized an identification parade, but Mahavir failed to identify any doctor , nurse or any other officers of staff, who misbehaved with him and refused to admit his sister. All this has further complicated the matter,“ said Investigating Officer Raj Kumar, who is posted as ASI in the Narwana police station.

On the morning of January 9, Geeta of Bhana village went into labour. Her brother, Mahavir, and mother, Sunehari, rushed her to the Narwana Civil Hospital. By the time they reached the hospital at about 8.30 am, Geeta was in severe pain. It is alleged that hospital staff kept her waiting outside general ward for more than 30 minutes and ultimately turned her away. Her family asked for an ambulance to take her to a hospital at Jind but were refused. The family boarded a bus; and enroute Geeta delivered a baby girl but the child died within minutes on account of the lack of medical care.

“The Senior Medical Officer and the Chief Medical Officer deny all allegations. The patient is still in Uchana hospital. We are conducting thorough investigation into the matter” said the Investigating Officer.

Yamunanagar, January 13
A martyr and four of his family have been booked on charge of forgery in Tewar village. Saleem Khan, who had joined the Army in 2000, and four members of his family were booked following a complaint by the sarpanch of Tewar village, Subedin.

Subedin had alleged that Saleem got the job in the Army on the basis of the documents of his younger brother Suleman, it said.

Saleem died while performing duty in Sikkim in 2004, and his widow Sangeeda, who remarried after the death of the former continued to draw family pension for over nine years.

“When the Army officers brought Saleem’s body to the village, his name was mentioned as Suleman instead of Saleem in the documents,” Subedin said.

“I informed the police, the Defence Ministry and the local administration about the forgery, but no one took any action. However, I continued my struggle and after a long period of nine years, the police have now booked five persons including martyr Saleem Khan,” he said.

“Subedin of Tewar village in a complaint to the Superintendent of Police, Yamunanagar, had alleged that Saleem Khan got a job in the Indian Army on the documents of his younger brother. He had also alleged that Saleem’s widow despite remarrying kept drawing pension for nine years,” SHO, Sadhaura, Barkha Ram said.

He added that the complaint was investigated by the Bilaspur DSP. The officer said the opinion of District Deputy Attorney was taken before registering a case.

Faridabad, January 13
Two incidents of rape have been reported in the district in the last 24 hours. A polytechnic student residing at Sadpura village who took a lift from a car driver was one of the victims to lodge a complaint.

A couple of days ago, she was waiting for an auto-rickshaw to go to her college at Sector 8. She was scheduled to appear in an examination and was getting late. An auto-rickshaw driver did not stop on her signal.

A person halted a car in front of her and offered to drop her to her college. She agreed to take the lift till the Ballabgarh bypass.

Instead of dropping her at the bypass, the man driving the car (HR73-8325) took her elsewhere and raped her twice before leaving her on the main road near her village in the evening.

He threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the matter to anyone. A case under Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC was registered. No arrest was made so far.

The second incident was reported from Sanjay Colony here. The accused, identified as Kalicharan, took the victim, aged about 16 years, to a basement in the colony on some pretext and raped her.

The accused approached the victim, a resident of Parvatiya Colony, to accompany him to a religious discourse at his house on Sunday.

Ambala, January 13
The father of a woman found dead in a room filled with smoke has claimed that his daughter has been murdered for dowry.

The deceased's body was recovered along with three unconscious persons at Ambli village in the Naraingarh segment of the district.

The police reached the spot and opened the room. They said it was suspected that Sonia's husband Manish's family was performing some black magic, which went wrong.

The investigating officer said they found Sonia dead while two women and another person were unconscious. They were rushed to a hospital nearby and from there, referred to the PGI in Chandigarh.

He said it was concluded from preliminary investigations that 14 members of Manish's family were performing some rituals behind closed doors for the last three days.

He said other villagers got suspicious of their activities and informed the police. They reached the house and forced opened the doors.

Deceased’s father Jagdish said his daughter’s wedding was solemnised in January last year. He added that her in-laws had started troubling her for dowry and they murdered her.

SONEPAT, JANUARY 13
Five persons lost their lives in road accidents last night. Two persons — Deepak and Ram Niwas of Pipli Khera — died on the spot and two others — Joginder and Amit — were injured seriously when an car knocked them down near Pipli turning on the GT road late last evening.

Joginder and Amit were referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak. The car driver fled, leaving behind the vehicle. The car was reportedly on its way to Delhi from Amritsar. The police have booked the car driver.

Gurvinder of Tilak Nagar, Delhi, died on the spot when his Santro car overturned near Bhigan turning on the GT road late last night. Cyclist Vijay of Uttarakhand died on the spot when he was knocked down by a truck near Khewra village on the Sonepat-Meerut highway late last night.

Chandigarh, January 13
The state-level Republic Day function will be held at Gurgaon, where Governor Jagannath Pahadia will unfurl the Tricolour. The 'At Home' will be organised at Gurgaon in the evening. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will hoist the National Flag at Mewat (Nuh).

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Sharma will unfurl the National Flag at Faridabad, Deputy Speaker Akram Khan at Jhajjar, Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha at Ambala, Power Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav at Rohtak, Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala at Sonepat, Revenue Minister Mahender Partap Singh at Karnal, Public Health Minister Kiran Choudhry at Yamunanagar, Agriculture Minister Paramvir Singh at Rewari, Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal at Hisar, Health Minister Narender Singh at Fatehabad, Cooperation Minister Satpal Sangwan at Sirsa, Urban Local Bodies Minister Savitri Jindal at Panchkula and Transport Minister Aftab Ahmad at Kurukshetra.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shiv Charan Lal Sharma will unfurl the National Flag at Mahendragarh, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sukhbir Kataria at Bhiwani, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Anita Yadav at Jind, CPS Rao Dan Singh at Panipat, CPS Dharambir Singh at Kaithal and CPS Jaiveer at Palwal. — TNS

It didn’t take politicians long to discover the publicity potential of social networking sites. Nearly every national and state-level politician can be found on Facebook or Twitter and they - or their public relations staff - are careful to keep accounts up-to-date. And don’t think any constituency is too remote or old-fashioned to be out of the networking loop. Take Sirsa … every politician in this corner of Haryana can be found on Facebook. Among the most active of them is MP Ashok Tanwar’s wife Avantika Maken Tanwar. She posts her own views and pictures of programmes that she or Tanwar attended, she is tagged by several of her fans and she also writes comments on others’ posts. Then there is Sirsa Youth Congress president Anandbir Gillankhera … He mainly posts on behalf of his dad, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prahlad Singh Gillankhera.

And how about this - stone walls do not a prison make …if you’re on Facebook. From Tihar Jail Gopal Kanda communicates regularly - or so it seems. Actually, one of his supporters operates his account on his behalf.

Among Haryana’s other Facebook-savvy politicos are INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala, the CM’s OSD (Media) KV Singh, HPCC spokesperson Hoshiyari Lal Sharma, Congress (Urban) president Bhupesh Mehta, former Mahila Congress chief Shilpa Verma, present chief Reena Birat and Fatehabad Mahila Congress chief Usha Dahiya.