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Cong, BJP in blame game over graft in HP
Uphill task for Cong in disaster-hit Uttarakhand
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STOCK-TAKING: Rattan Singh Ajnala
(Khadoor Sahib)
STOCK-TAKING: Hassan Khan
( Ladakh)
CPM releases first list of 24 candidates
LS polls likely to begin from April 2nd week
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Cong, BJP in blame game over graft in HP
Shimla, March 2 Of the four parliamentary seats, three - Shimla, Hamirpur and Kangra - are represented by the BJP while Mandi is with the Congress. As more than half (55 per cent) of the 45 lakh voters in the hill state comprise youth, a sizeable chunk among them first-timers, the two political rivals have been striving to show that the other is corrupt. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh (Congress) and Leader of the Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal (BJP), and their family members, have also been fighting a war on corruption through the media. Political analysts, though, dub the mudslinging as 'vendetta politics'. Its impact on the voters will, however, be clear only after the election results are out. Legal battle
Both Virbhadra and Dhumal have sought to fight it out through the court. The Congress veteran recently filed a defamation case against Dhumal and his sons - Anurag Thakur and Arun Dhumal - for allegedly hacking his income tax return details. Anurag, Hamirpur MP and Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) chief, has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha Singh (Mandi MP). He has accused them of failing to declare the details of a loan they claim to have got from a family friend, Vakamullah Chander Shekhar, in their election affidavits. Chargesheet politics
Both the Congress and BJP have also been trying to outsmart each other in what has emerged as the politics of chargesheet. The BJP submitted a chargesheet alleging irregularities in governance against Virbhadra and his Cabinet ministers to the Governor on a day when the Congress raided Dhumal's bastion by holding a rally to mark its one year in power. In 2012, when the BJP was in power, the Congress had submitted a similar chargesheet to the President. It had accused the government of 'benami' deals and irregularities in the state cricket association. The party also adopted the chargesheet as its manifesto for the Assembly elections. Leaderspeak
Maheshwar Singh, Himachal Lokhit Party convener
Harsh Mahajan, Congress state vice-president
Satpal Satti, bjp state president
Rakesh Singha, cpm leader
Des Raj, aap leader Voterspeak
Voters are aware of the corruption in politics and will take the leaders to task this time. Our representatives should have a clean image and high moral values. It's time we adopt zero tolerance towards
corruption. Dr Mamta
Mokta, professor, public administration, hpu e-governance is the best tool to check corruption. MPs should stand for social service and not for their own welfare. Lokayukta should be
impartial. NS Bisht, professor,
population studies and economics, hpu Corruption will be the top issue during the LS elections. With Aam Aadmi Party emerging, the people have a third
alternative. Pratima Malhotra, social activist and hc lawyer IN the cross hairs Bharatiya Janata Party
Congress
The BJP has submitted a chargesheet to the Governor on the completion of the one year of the Congress regime and accused all ministers, including GS Bali, Kaul Singh Thakur, Mukesh Agnihotri, Vidya Stokes, Anil Sharma and Sudhir Sharma, of acts of omission and commission. Aam Aadmi Party
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Uphill task for Cong in disaster-hit Uttarakhand
Dehradun, March 2 Thousands of lives were lost and properties on an unprecedented scale were damaged in the disaster. The failure of the state government to respond to the tragedy has made the affected population angry. Thousands of roads, culverts, bridges and schools, which were washed away in the massive floods, are yet to be reconstructed. Char Dham yatra hit
After the rescue operations carried by the Army, Air Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and National Disaster Relief Force, the pace of relief and rehabilitation work to be done by the state had been very slow. The state government could not start the reconstruction works as tenders were not awarded till last month. Roads are the lifeline of the state, but in the absence of proper roads, normal life has been adversely affected. Residents to boycott poll
Residents of Baram and Drama valleys and Jauljibi town in Pithoragarh district have threatened to boycott the coming elections if facilities of road, water, electricity and alternate houses were not provided to them. Thousands of people living on the banks of rivers in the districts are living in a perpetual fear of floods in the coming monsoon period. They demanded that retaining walls should be built to protect their homes. But it is a gigantic task for the state government. Change of guard
With Lok Sabha elections approaching fast, the ruling Congress party, which served an ultimatum on former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to put his act together, finally gave him marching orders on February 1, 2014, in a damage control exercise. The party brought Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat as the new Chief Minister of the state. After taking over, Chief Minister Harish Rawat has been working overtime with a special focus on the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction works in the disaster-affected areas. Apart from taking several tours of the areas, Rawat has given stern orders to the state machinery to work expeditiously. He has given financial powers of up to Rs 1 crore for rehabilitation works to Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) to expedite works in the affected areas. Rawat has also been trying to motivate the Congress workers in the affected areas to propagate the works being done by the state government. Interestingly, he has deployed his son Anand Rawat, a former state Youth Congress president, to visit the areas to get feedback of the people on rehabilitation and reconstruction works. Oppn takes advantage
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also not oblivious of the issue of the failure of the state government in providing relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction in the disaster-hit areas. BJP leaders, inside and outside the Assembly, have been raising the pitch on the issue. Ajay Bhatt, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said the failure of the state government had been admitted by the Congress high command by replacing Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna. Chief Minister Harish Rawat said the task remained enormous but sincere efforts were being undertaken in these areas. Makeshift arrangements
Yashpal Arya, who was the Disaster Management Minister in the Vijay Bahuguna ministry, said after the massive damage in June, 2013, the rain continued till October 2013. “There was no lack of political will, but ground realities were against us. We make arrangements to restart the Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib yatra by making temporary roads, bridges and culverts by October, 2013. Then winter set in and it started snowing in the higher reaches. But massive efforts are on to repair the roads and rebuild the walk away stretches to Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib shrines before May, 2014,” he said. Central relief package
Uttarakhand has received a sum of Rs 7,000 crore for disaster relief from the Union government. While the compensation part has been paid to the affected persons who lost their kith and kin, hearths and homes, efforts are on to restart the reconstruction of the roads and bridges by the PWD and Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The money has been sanctioned to the BRO to repair and build roads last week. “We hope that the massive reconstruction work would be undertaken in the coming three months before the start of the Char Dham yatra,” said Chief Minister Harish Rawat. Oppositionspeak
Ajay Bhatt, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Harish Rawat, Chief Minister
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STOCK-TAKING: Rattan Singh Ajnala
(Khadoor Sahib) Having sensed ‘anti-incumbency’ against him, the SAD opted to replace him with stalwart Ranjit Singh Brahampura GS Paul and Gurbax Puri Tribune News Service
Khadoor Sahib, March 2
Local residents allege that towns and villages in the constituency lack basic amenities and there has been no major investment by any public or private sector in the area. Hailing from the border town of Ajnala, the Badal loyalist has remained an MLA, a minister and the district party chief for around 18 years. Khadoor Sahib had been proclaimed the capital of Khalistan in 1980s and the Akali Dal had always won the seat, except in 1991 when it had boycotted the elections. The ground situation
A look at the MPLAD fund transactions at the ministry's website reveals that health, education and social security were low on Ajnala's priority list. All promises of transforming Khadoor Sahib into an industrial hub, too, ended up as a distant dream with not even a single major project being launched here. As far as civic amenities are concerned, funds to the tune of Rs 5-6 lakh could hardly bring any change in the area. Ajnala's focus seems to have been on cementing the vote bank in the rural border belt. He contributed tremendously to the farming community and disbursed grants to villages and smaller border towns of Bhikhiwind, Jhabbal and Khemkaran sector. Though he is a doctor, the government health institutions in his constituency are crying for attention. There is no old age home or multi-specialty hospital in the entire constituency. Though the border belt is infamous for youth being addicted to drugs, no de-addiction centres have been opened in the area. The Primary Health Centre in Fatehabad has inadequate medical facilities, and reels under severe staff crunch. The only Senior Medical Officer and pharmacists are deputed in neighbouring districts on stopgap arrangement in the civil hospitals of Khadoor Sahib and Sarhali. He had released funds for many government schools in small denominations, yet most of the schools lack basic infrastructure. The area neither has a huge stadium nor any sports facility. On being asked, he could recall just one major sports project for which he claimed to have released a grant of Rs 40 lakh. The project was to elevate the 16-acre ground of Jiwan Mal Government Model Senior Secondary School in Ferozepur to a multi-specialty sports stadium. A visit to the site revealed that it was an incomplete structure. Principal Kuldeep Kaur alleged that the school did not receive the grant. "Except for Rs 3.5 lakh, out of the Rs 5-lakh grant released by the Punjab Sports department, we never received a single penny. Our school management committee had contacted the local authorities, but never received any communication in this regard," she said. Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang said: "The work has to be done through Block Development Panchayat Officer, who has to provide us cost details. It was his job to co-ordinate with the Panchayati Raj Junior Engineer concerned and the school managing committee. I am sending them a reminder." What Ajnala says
"Despite several constraints from the Central pool, I was able to disburse maximum funds. Residents of my constituency repose faith in me for voicing their concern and I have worked for the holistic development of my area," Ajnala said. "The allegations that I remained absent from my constituency is nothing but a false propaganda. I was a part of the constituency as the president of the District Akali Dal, Amritsar, for around two decades, which includes two terms as the Lok Sabha MP. People consider me uncommunicative because I do not attend programmes organised by individuals," he said. He said to carry out development in the health and education sectors, the Central nod was must. MPLADS funds
Official figures reveal that Ajnala was granted Rs 16.5 crore under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS). With the interest accrued on his funds, which amount to Rs 18.57 lakh in addition to an amount of Rs 32.26 lakh as carry-forward funds from the predecessor MP quota, he was able to procure an amount of Rs 19.58 crore for his constituency. The projects
Ajnala launched 781 projects, of which 110 have been completed. The total cost of works sanctioned is Rs 19.19 crore. With unsanctioned balance of Rs 31.09 lakh, the actual expenditure for the sanctioned works is Rs 18.31 crore. According to the norms set by the Centre, it is compulsory to submit the Utilisation Certificates against the funds released by the MP concerned. At present, an amount of Rs 11.9 crore is lying unspent with the district administration and Rs. 88.08 lakh is lying unspent with the executive agencies (unutilised sanctioned money). In Parliament
Ajnala had raised issues regarding uplift of farmers on the border areas and flaws in procurement of produce, minimum support price, tax rebate on industry in the state and reported threat to the Sikh community from militants in Jammu and Kashmir. He also sought recognition of Sikhism as a full-fledged religion and demanded amendment in Article 25 of Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2012. Where he stands Name Rattan Singh Ajnala Constituency break-up In Parliament MPLADS funds Expenditure incurred on works completed and utility certificate received
Rs 3.5 crore Opponentspeak
Rana Gurjit Singh, Congress leader VOTERSPEAK
Chanchal Singh, Bharowal village resident Santokh Singh, Goindwal Sahib resident Dilbagh Singh, Bhair village resident
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STOCK-TAKING: Hassan Khan
( Ladakh) Plays a waiting game, says will take a final call once other parties declare their candidates Azhar Qadri Tribune News Service
Srinagar, March 2 Khan had to strike a balance between Buddhist-dominated Leh and Muslim stronghold Kargil. Residents of both the areas have grievances of being "preferred over the other". He retired as the Deputy Inspector General in 1995. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999, and then again in 2009. Khan said he has not yet decided about contesting the next Parliamentary elections and that he would take the final call once other parties declared their candidates. Ladakh Parliamentary constituency comprises two districts - Kargil and Leh. It has four Assembly constituencies - Nobra, Leh, Kargil and Zanskar. Kargil and Zanskar are represented in the state Assembly by the National Conference, Leh by a Congress candidate and Nobra by an Independent. In 2009, when the last Parliamentary elections were held, Ladakh constituency had 1.48 lakh electors, lowest among the six constituencies of the state, of which 71.86 per cent cast the ballot. He won by a margin of 3,684 votes, securing 32,701 votes. He defeated Phuntsog Namgyal of the Congress, who got 29,017 votes. MPLADS funds
Khan claimed to have spent the funds to improve the healthcare infrastructure, road connectivity, education facilities and community centres. Also, he released Rs 2 crore for the construction of two inns in New Delhi for the people of Kargil and Leh districts who visit the national capital. "I went to the villages and asked them what they wanted. I did not sit back in my house to decide what to do with the funds," Khan said. He said he had also spent a portion of the MPLAD funds to provide relief to Leh town, which had witnessed a cloudburst in 2010. The rival's take
Sonam Wangchuk, a member of the Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council, however, said he could "only meet the MP once in his five-year tenure. "That speaks of the MP's performance," Wangchuk said, while dismissing Khan's claims on expenditure of MPLAD funds as "farcical". Performance in Parliament
According to PRS legislative research, an independent initiative of the Centre for Policy Research, Khan's attendance during the 15th Lok Sabha has been 91 per cent, higher than the national average of 76 per cent. He participated in 16 debates, which is lower than the national average of 36.8. Where he stands Party Independent Current Profile
MP from Ladakh Entered Lok Sabha in 1999, re-elected in 2009 Constituency break-up In Parliament MPLADS funds Opponentspeak
I could only meet the MP once in five years. This speaks of his performance. I dismiss Khan's expenditure of MPLAD funds as a
lie. Sonam Wangchuk, Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council member MPspeak
I did not just sit back in my house to decide what to do with the funds granted to me by the government. In fact, I went to the villages in my segment, saw the problems and asked people what they
wanted. Hassan Khan, Ladakh MP
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CPM releases first list of 24 candidates
New Delhi, March 2 In a statement, the party said Uddhab Barman would contest from Barpeta, Khemraj Chetry from Tejpur and Rejamond Ali from Silchar in Assam. Singhjibhai Katara from Dohad (ST) in Gujarat, Phool Singh Sheokand from Hisar, Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria from Sirsa (SC) and Master Sher Singh from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency in Haryana. Kushal Bharadwaj would contest from Mandi and Jagat Ram from Shimla (SC) in Himachal Pradesh. While Jyotin Soren would be the party candidate from Rajmahal (ST), Rajinder Singh Munda would be in the fray from Ranchi in Jharkhand. Srirama Reddy and Yadav Shetty would fight from Chikballapur and Mangalore in Karnataka. Akhilesh Yadav from Gwalior and Lata Bharbore from Jhabua-Ratlam (ST) in Madhya Pradesh. Ladak Kharpade from Palghar (ST), Hemant Waghere from Dindori (ST) and Tanaji Jaybhave from Nashik in Maharashtra. Ali Kishor Patnaik from Berhampur in Odisha, Balbir Singh Jadla from Anandpur Sahib and Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon from Ludhiana in Punjab. Hiralal Yadav from Varanasi, Nafeesuddin from Moradabad in UP, Shiv Prasad Deoli from Tehri in Uttarakhand and Muneer from Lakshadweep. The statement, issued after the conclusion of a two-day Central Committee here, said it discussed the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections in all states and approved the first list of seats and the candidates of the party. The draft of the election manifesto of the party was discussed the meeting, which also authorised the Polit Bureau to finalise the manifesto and issue it at the appropriate time, the release added. — PTI
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LS polls likely to begin from April 2nd week
New Delhi, March 2 “The probable dates for polling are between April 7 and 10,” sources in the Election Commission said and added that the schedule was still being "fine tuned". As of now, the plan is to have voting, involving over 81 crore voters, in seven phases but efforts are on to reduce that to six phases. The 2009 elections were held in five phases from April 16 to May 13. The much-expected announcement of the schedule is expected in the middle of this week. The model code of conduct for the governments and political parties will come into force from the date of announcement. However, the Election Commission has ruled out advancing the schedule or compressing it to avoid the summer heat, a demand put forward at the all-party meeting convened by the commission last month. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on June 1 and the new House has to be constituted by May 31. Along with the Lok Sabha elections, Andhra Pradesh, including the regions comprising the newly-carved out Telangana, Odisha and Sikkim will go to polls to elect new Assemblies. Sources said finishing touches were being given to the schedule. Consultations with the Union Home Ministry, state governments, paramilitary forces and Chief Electoral Officers of the states had already been completed. If a six or a seven-phased schedule is finalised, it would be the first time the country would witness elections over such a long period. Sources said the attempt was to maximise use of forces and the polling days. In the first phase, polling is expected to be held in some of the naxal-hit states and in some Northeast states. For the first time in parliamentary elections, a system of paper trail for electronic voting will be introduced in some constituencies on a trial basis. — PTI Poll scene
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Lalu sticks to 11-seat offer to Congress Auto brigade deserts Kejriwal Cong to undertake new poll strategy: Vasan
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Corruption has emerged as one of the main issues dominating Himachal politics in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
Corruption has emerged as one of the main issues dominating Himachal politics in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. Both the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP have been raising the issue to target each other every now and then.
BJP has double standards on corrup-tion. When I was in the party, I raised the graft issue with Narendra Modi. But he did not act on the complaints and I was forced to quit the party. Now, the Congress is also going soft on
corruption.
The Dhumal government was the most corrupt and was rejected in the Assembly elections. Our government is probing the wrongdoings during their rule. The Congress has also proposed a strong Lokayukta to check
corruption.
Virbhadra Singh is in the habit of filing defamation suits only to withdraw them later. It was he who targeted the Dhumal family. The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) has done a good job in the
state.
By accusing each other of corruption, the BJP and the Congress cannot fool the people for long. A strong Lokayukta is the only way to check corruption. Mere talk will not serve the
purpose.
The BJP and Congress have been exposed on corruption. The BJP did nothing to set up a strong Lokayukta when it was in power. It has no right to talk about corruption. The Congress, too, has proposed a weak
Lokayukta.
Virender Kashyap, BJP MP re-nominated from Shimla: Facing trial in the cash-on-camera case in the High Court. The Vigilance is seeking legal opinion to file a chargesheet against him.
Rajiv Bindal, BJP MLA from Nahan and former Health Minister:
A case of illegal recruitments in the Solan Municipal Council has been registered against him. The Himachal Lokhit Party accused him of 'benami' deals. He had to quit the ministry due to the charge.
Anurag Thakur, Hamirpur MP and HPCA president: Faces Vigilance probe for allegedly usurping government land in the name of a society and then changed it into a company. He has been accused of using his father's influence to run a five-star hotel and cricket stadium in Dharamsala. The case is pending in the High Court.
Prem Kumar Dhumal, leader of the Opposition:
He was quizzed by the Vigilance in the HPCA land grab case. The Vigilance is also preparing a chargesheet in the case.
Shanta Kumar, BJP candidate from Kangra:
Faces the charge that he got government land at Palampur for Re 1 to run a hospital. Accused of turning it into a commercial yoga centre by roping in a private firm during the previous BJP regime.
Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister: Accused of favouring a Delhi trader, Vakamullah Chander Shekhar, by re-allotting the 15-MW Sai Kothi project to his firm. The CBI gave him a clean chit in the Katha Sagar case.
Sukh Ram, former Union Telecom Minister: Convicted in a disproportionate assets case by a Delhi special court in 2010-11. He got stay on his conviction on health grounds.
Rajan Sushant, former BJP MP and now AAP candidate from Kangra: Accused of grabbing government land at his native Dehri village in 2012. The case is pending in a revenue court.
The slow pace of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work after the natural disaster hit the five districts of Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarakashi, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh in June 2013, will have its bearing on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
The disaster also led to the stoppage of the “Char Dham yatra” to the holy shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamontri, the backbone
of economy of the Garhwal region.
A total of 2,059 roads, including national and state highways and village roads, were damaged during the disaster. A total of 225 bridges were damaged, while 80 were completely washed away. The Public Works Department (PWD) worked overtime to reopen these roads. Most of these roads were made functional but many roads, which were completely washed away, could not be repaired. Makeshift arrangements were made to make these roads operational.
The people will punish the Congress for its callous and insensitive attitude towards the disaster-hit
population.
We are confident of restarting the ‘Char Dham yatra’ ” to the holy shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamontri on schedule in May this
year.
Though he has been denied a party ticket this time, Shiromani Akali Dal's sitting Khadoor Sahib MP Rattan Singh Ajnala has been lucky enough to win the public mandate twice in succession (2004 and 2009) despite being "inaccessible", as alleged by residents of his constituency.
Apparently having sensed the anti-incumbency against him, the ruling party opted to replace him with SAD stalwart Ranjit Singh Brahampura, who had been out of action ever since he lost the state Assembly elections in 2012. The controversy over the drug racket also did Ajnala in.
Ajnala boasts of procuring and "utilising" almost the entire Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund, but it seems that it failed to yield the desired result, as the grant distribution was found to be "politically driven".
I refrain from commenting on anybody's performance. The public is the best judge. Rattan Singh Ajnala's ability to connect with the common man would be revealed in the upcoming
elections.
Ajnala may be honest but as an MP, he has disappointed us. He never met us, let alone issuing grants for our benefit. The only person who is bringing a constructive change in this rural belt blessed with rich Sikh heritage is Baba Sewa Singh Khadoor
Sahib.
The water and sewerage supply lines in our locality are damaged. Ajnala won just because majority of the local residents are puppets in the hands of their respective sarpanches who are manipulated by
politicians.
Ajnala failed to live up to our expectations. A majority of the educated youth is still unemployed because there are no job avenues in the government and private
sectors.
Hassan Khan (77), an Independent candidate, represents Ladakh Parliamentary constituency, which is thinly populated and has harsh terrains. The constituency is remotely located and remains cut off from the rest of the state during winter.
According to an official website, the Government of India had granted Rs 19.5 crore to Khan under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS). Of this, 67.74 per cent has been utilised, while the remaining Rs 6.34 crore are unspent.