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Dharambir to quit as CPS
Badal’s efforts for BJP-INLD tieup force Venod’s silence
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Venod unsure, but hails Modi
17 police teams to deal with arms, money, liquor in Faridabad
Gorakhpur nuclear plant
Sonepat AAP candidate leads in constituency
visits
State Lokayukta pleads for more powers
No woman candidate from Karnal since 1967
Khaps, Jat leaders to honour politicians, but separately
After Rahul, Jind farmers meet Murli Manohar Joshi
Clash at wedding sparks caste tension
Child sex ratio shows improvement in Karnal
INLD unlikely in NDA fold
NH-73 four-laning set to get delayed
3.5 kg opium, pistol seized from 3 youths
Sensitive booths identified in Jind
80 Rewari villages see decline in gender ratio
Punjabi youth urged to work for society welfare
Parents, groom booked under child marriage Act
Man slapped in panchayat ends life
Jhajjar Cong chief's brother joins BJP
2 poll observers for state
Man crushed to death
Students win laurels
Youth arrested for killing mother
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Dharambir to quit as CPS
Bhiwani, March 9 Dharambir made it clear that he would remain active in Bhiwani, indicating his disinclination to contest Assembly elections from the Sohna Assembly segment in Gurgaon. The Congress had fielded him from Sohna in 2009 after he was denied the ticket from Badhra in Bhiwani, which he had represented in 2004. There was no Congress poster or flag in the programme, which had a gathering of around 10,000. Addressing the rally, he announced his decision to relinquish the post of Chief Parliamentary Secretary. He kept pending the decision of leaving the Congress or contesting the General Election. He said he had left the decision on his future course of action in politics to a committee of 27 members from various segments of Bhiwani district. In an indirect reference to Kiran Choudhry, Congress MLA from Tosham and Excise and Taxation Minister, he said a leader had objected to his raising the issue of a bypass in Bhiwani. "She told me in the Assembly not to be concerned about Bhiwani," he said. He alleged a large-scale scam in excise collection in the Excise and Taxation Department and demanded a CBI inquiry. He did not elaborate on the scam. The Sohna MLA said many people had joined politics in the name of carrying family legacy forward while he had come to serve the people. "Such leaders join politics to loot the people," he claimed. He demanded that power tariff should be brought down to Re 1 per unit up to 1,000 units and Rs 2 for 1,001 to 2,000 units as it would bring down line losses. He questioned the manner in which political parties gave the election ticket and Cabinet berths. "Major parties take all decisions in Delhi and enforce the decisions on the people without taking feedback from the grassroots. Popular leaders and sentiments of local people are never taken care of. When we raise these issues, we are told to keep quiet in the name of maintaining discipline in the party," he rued. Political observers said by organising a show of strength, Dharambir had sought to activate his cadre in Bhiwani, his home district, as he seemed to be on a sticky wicket in Sohna, where he was relocated in 2009 to be placated. The exercise seemed to be aimed at building pressure on the leadership to give him the ticket from any Assembly constituency in Bhiwani, they said. Vital targets
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Badal’s efforts for BJP-INLD tieup force Venod’s silence
Chandigarh, March 9 Sharma had almost made up his mind to join the BSP after the BJP blocked his entry into the HJC. But as Badal, who is in Delhi, met BJP President Rajnath Singh and its PM candidate Narendra Modi separately, Sharma has chosen to keen his options under the wraps till the fate of Badal’s efforts is known. Badal, a senior member of the NDA, is camping in New Delhi trying to for an INLD- BJP alliance to bolster the alliance’s electoral prospects in Congress-ruled Haryana. At present the BJP is in a pre-poll alliance with the HJC. Over the past two days, Badal has met several BJP leaders, including Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to activate back-hannel negotiations with the INLD and blunt the BJP insiders’ opposition to the INLD-BJP alliance after dumping the HJC. As no BJP leader is in favour of breaking the alliance with the HJC, the possibility of a “maha alliance” among all three parties cannot be ruled out. Naqvi is also believed to have held a meeting with INLD leader Abhay Chautala to discuss seat sharing. Taking a safe line, Venod has announced that he would support any group, association or party that favour Narendra Modi to be India’s Prime Minister. Sharma told The Tribune that “I have made myself clear that I am for Modi to lead the nation”. About his plans to join the BSP, Sharma dismissed the question by saying “I have said whatever I had to say”. Politcal observers suggest that Sharma has taken a very safe line keeping in view the uncertainty about the political alliances in Haryana. Several BJP leaders, including Narendra Modi, Sushma Swaraj and most BJP leaders of Haryana, are against an alliance with the INLD and want to stick with the HJC, but Badal’s efforts may yield some results. A formula for a “maha alliance” is being suggested where the BJP would contest five seats, giving three to the INLD and two to the HJC. In the exiting HJC-BJP alliance, the two parties will contest two and eight seats, respectively. Hisar and Karnal seats are expected to be contested by the HJC. If the BJP dumps the HJC for the INLD, the HJC would need candidates and Venod Sharma may still be hopeful to get Karnal. By extending support to Modi, Sharma has indicated that he would prefer the HJC to the BSP. It may be mentioned that Badal has sought a seat for his SAD in the Sikh-dominated Sirsa (reserve). The “maha alliance” is not an easy task as the INLD and the HJC are both eyeing the Hisar seat currently held by HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi. Suggestion for maha alliance
A formula for a “maha alliance” is being suggested where the BJP would contest five seats, giving three to the INLD and two to the HJC. In the exiting HJC-BJP alliance, the two parties will contest two and eight seats, respectively. Hisar and Karnal seats are expected to be contested by the
HJC. |
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Venod unsure, but hails Modi Kurukshetra, March 9 Ending speculations of his joining any political outfit or floating a party of his own, Sharma, speaking at the Jan Chetna Mahayagya organised to mark the end of his 101-day-old ‘Jan Chetna Yatra’ undertaken through Haryana, said he “backs any person or party that supports Modi”. Sharma, who ended his four-decade association with the Congress for its “undemocratic” ways by sending in his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier last week, emphatically stated that there was no going back on his decision of quitting the Congress. Praising the “humble tea-vendor” who rose to become the BJP’s PM candidate, he stated that Modi wanted to “take the country forward” and his vision found reflection in the development Gujarat had seen under his rule. “I will not go back to the Congress. I am ashamed that Congressmen make fun at Modi’s humble beginning. Is this democracy? Whoever has a vision and has the love of the people will become PM,” he said, adding that the Congress talk of seeking feedback on candidates was all hogwash. “The Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi announced that candidates would be chosen by the Primaries but imposed candidates upon workers. The party practices selective secularism. It does not practice what it preaches whether it is candidate selection or reservation for women,” Sharma claimed. Striking an emotional chord by raising the issue of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Sharma took on the Haryana’s Congress government for failing to conclude the Hondh-Chillar inquiry. Recalling how he had saved a family during the 1984 Sikh riots and kept them at his residence for three days, Sharma said that the scars of the violence were yet to heal. “The Haryana government, too, set up a commission of inquiry to look into the killing of 32 persons in Hondh-Chillar during the riots. There is no report even after three years when it was said that it will be ready within six months. The truth must come out. If the report is not submitted within a month, we will begin an agitation,” he announced. Initial reports pointed to the former union minister joining the BJP or the Haryana Janhit Congress. The move failed to materialise after BJP leader Sushma Swaraj expressed her disapproval. He, however, gave no hint of contesting the parliamentary election as was being conjectured.
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17 police teams to deal with arms, money, liquor in Faridabad
Faridabad, March 9 Faridabad is among the three Lok Sabha seats in the state which have been declared as sensitive in matters of poll expenditure by the Election Commission. The other two are Rohtak and Kurukshetra. The police recently busted a gang of criminals hailing from Uttar Pradesh. The police recovered five firearms, including four countrymade revolvers, and 70 live cartridges. The four arrested after a brief encounter were on the most wanted list in Uttar Pradesh. They were wanted in numerous incidents of crime, said AS Chawla, Commissioner of Police. He said the possibility of the gang having political patronage could not be ruled out. He said a meeting of senior officials of the police of the NCR was held recently, in which it was decided to set up special teams and squads under the direct control of the Joint Commissioner of Police to keep a constant vigil and conduct raids on the hideouts of those involved in such activities. He said a total of eight firearms, 73 live cartridges and 279 bottle of illicit liquor had been recovered in the last three days alone. The recovery of illicit arms, execution of non-bailable warrants and arrest of proclaimed offenders was on the priority list of the district police, he added. Several candidates in the fray did not hesitate in using money and liquor, which were distributed mainly at night, alleged Anup Chaudhary a local resident. He said it was especially done in slums and unauthorised residential colonies, where the concentration of voters was heavy. He said this had been common practice over the last several decades to make an impact on voters. He said besides installing CCTV cameras at public places and in areas having dense population, the authorities should reward those who provided information regarding violation of the model code of conduct. |
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Intellectuals, scientists, rekindle protest movement
Sunit Dhawan Tribune News Service
Rohtak, March 9 They said the recent nuclear mishap in Japan had triggered a global debate on the big and long-term dangers spanning across generations associated with nuclear projects. “On the other hand, the Union Government is hell-bent on installing 39 nuclear reactors across the country, and the second largest nuclear power plant was proposed to be set up at Gorakhpur, which raises genuine concerns and questions,” they maintained. The campaigners associated with the Parmanu Urja Virodhi Morcha, Haryana, including Dr Rajender Sharma and Subhash Punia, pointed out that even the countries like the USA and Japan had not been able to prevent nuclear mishaps and had to suffer massive losses. “Even if no mishap takes place, the disposal of radioactive nuclear waste and the radioactive emissions from the proposed plant will have a devastating effect on the environment and human beings,” said Dr Sharma. Dr Rajinder Chaudhary, who has also been supporting the movement, asserted that contrary to the claims made by the governments, nuclear power was a highly risky and expensive alternative in terms of energy. He further pointed out that the Gorakhpur area was thickly populated and comprised of fertile land, which had been acquired for the proposed nuclear plant. The campaigners affirmed that though the government had succeeded in acquiring land for the nuclear plant, their struggle against the proposed project would continue. The yatra, which commenced here today, would pass through Bhiwani, Hisar and Fatehabad and finally culminate in Sirsa on March 11.
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Sonepat AAP candidate leads in constituency
visits
Jind, March 9 Some party leaders said they had prepared a detailed strategy to get in touch with all voters of the district. They would first organise meetings in all cities of Sonepat constituency and then hold two meetings in each village to know their demands. Singh said he had covered 110 villages till date and had organised meetings in all villages. “Like other parties, we are not providing any facility to voters to attend our meetings. But they are coming on their own and the number has been increasing with every meeting,” he said. Gurgaon: Accusing AAP of being a satellite supporter of Congress, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy yesterday described AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's tour of Gujarat as a "sponsored drama" of the Congress. "AAP failed to provide details of their foreign funding to the Home Ministry. Kejriwal and his team have been busy in Gujarat to escape action by the Central government. He should be arrested for allegedly not providing details of AAP's foreign funding," Swamy said. He had merged his Janata Party with the BJP some seven months ago. Swamy was the chief guest at a meeting of traders here, organised by the saffron party. The leader demanded an explanation why AAP workers were not protesting against former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's appointment as Kerala Governor.
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State Lokayukta pleads for more powers
Kaithal, March 9 He said a strong Lokayukta would certainly be able to deal strongly with the wrong doers if it was given more powers. In the initial years when the institution was introduced in the state it had powers to effect presence of any person and witness but later this power was diluted, making the institution toothless and leaving it with only recommendatory powers for action against those held guilty, he added. Justice Pritam Pal was here to inspect the District Jail. He also inaugurated a blood donation camp in Cheeka, 26 km from here. During his jail inspection, Justice Pritam Pal had an interaction with convicts and under trials, including women, and listened to their grievances. He also inspected the jail kitchen and got information about the medical facilities being provided to the inmates. While addressing the prisoners he advised them to behave like good citizens and have a positive thinking. He directed jail superintendent Raj Kumar to forward the case of release of prisoner Pirthi Singh (70), who had completed his sentence but could not be released as the election code of conduct came into force. The Lokayukta also directed the jail authorities to make necessary arrangement for the education of a four-year-old child who was in jail with his convict mother. The Jail Superintendent gave him information about health sports and entertainment facilities being provided to the prisoners.
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No woman candidate from Karnal since 1967
Karnal, March 9 Sushma had a bad experience with Karnal. She contested thrice from the seat in 1980 (Janta Party), 1984 and 1989 (BJP), but the luck had been cruel to her. In 1980, Congress candidate Chiranji Lal Sharma defeated Sushma by 22,320 votes in a triangular contest. She was again defeated by Chiranji Lal in 1984. She once again contested from the seat in 1989, but lost it in a close contest. Chiranji Lal defeated her by 8,673 votes. A political analyst says it could be the same in these Lok Sabha elections also, as it is expected that no party would give a ticket to women candidates. The Congress has declared Arvind Sharma as its candidate and the expected candidate of the BJP-HJC alliance is also not a woman. Chiranji Lal registered four successive wins from this constituency defeating old rival Sushma Swaraj (BJP) and Chansham Pal Singh of the Janta Dal in 1991. This constituency comprises of nine Assembly segments of Karnal, Indri, Gharaunda, Nilokheri and Assandh in Karnal district and Panipat (rural), Panipat (urban), Israna and Samalkha constituencies in Panipat district.
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Khaps, Jat leaders to honour politicians, but separately
Jind, March 9 The Akhil Bhartiya Jat Mahasabha will organise another function on March 20 in New Delhi to honour
Hooda, former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and other politicians for their support to the agitation. Sources said initially, the SJKP had decided to organise an event to honour only politicians, but later some Jat leaders loyal to various political parties objected to it. They did not want to spread misinformation about their political support to the honoured politicians. To pacify these sulking Jat leaders, the organisers have decided to honour the families of three martyrs, who lost their lives during the agitation, also. Many senior Jat leaders, who will participate in the March 15 event, have confirmed that they would not attend the March 20 function. On the other hand, many of those busy in the preparations of the March 20 event said they would not attend the March 15 event. “Over 5,000 members of various khaps of Haryana, UP and Rajasthan will participate in the March 20 function in New Delhi to honour politicians from various parties. We have invited all struggle committees, khaps and other Jat groups that helped in securing reservation for themselves,” said Kuldeep Singh
Dhanda, convener, Sarv Khap Panchayat. |
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After Rahul, Jind farmers meet Murli Manohar Joshi
Jind, March 9 “We showed Joshi our special presentation about our project. He has assured us that after discussions with other members of the committee, he would take best steps to help us spread our movement at the national level and include our demands in the BJP national manifesto” Dharmveer Malik, president of insects literacy movement, told The Tribune over the phone after coming out of the BJP’s New Delhi office. Farmers of many villages in this district have stopped using pesticides and identified 204 insects. Their experiments over the past six years have proved that there is no need for any pesticide to protect crops from these insects as non-vegetable insects eat vegetable insects and leave fields when they do not find their food (vegetable insects). During his visit to the state last month, Rahul Gandhi had met the same group of farmers and shown a keen interest in their technique of identifying insects. A group comprising Savita, Meena, both trainers of the group, a farmer Randev and Khap leader Kuldeep singh Dhanda met Joshi and other senior BJP leaders and submitted their detailed presentation. Other demands of the group include monetary help to farmers, who are spending from their pockets on the insects literacy campaign and inclusion of the campaign as a national project under the Agriculture Department, implementation of the Swaminathan committee report and a special award to late Dr Surender Dalal, who started the campaign. |
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Clash at wedding sparks caste tension
Rewari, March 9 Police personnel were deputed in the village to keep a close tab on the situation even though no one approached the police to lodge a complaint. A senior official of the Dahina subdivision was involved in the process to resolve the issue. The clash broke out when
'ghurcharhi' of Vishnu, a Dalit youth, was being taken out in the village yesterday. During the celebration, some Dalits allegedly had a verbal duel with a group of villagers from the upper caste. The duel turned violent as both group attacked each other, causing multiple injuries to five persons. The Dalit group accused their opponents of causing disturbance in the wedding deliberately, which later sparked anger among
Dalits. They started mobilising, but the police, on getting information, rushed to the village and pacified both parties after holding parley with them. Tension triggered again in the village after news spread of misbehaviour by a youth of an upper caste with a Dalit girl. The police dispatched personnel to the village to keep the situation under control. The village sarpanch said giving caste colour to the clash was not appropriate as there was no issue of caste in the matter and both groups engaged in the scuffle due to personal reasons. The police said the situation was under control in the village. None of the groups had lodged a |
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Child sex ratio shows improvement in Karnal
Karnal, March 9 In
Gagsina, Indri, Bhadson, Khukhni, Nissing, Barota and Sambhli primary and community health
centres, the child sex ratio was recorded at 1,129, 1,385,1,115,1,084,1,178,1,194 and 1,063 respectively. The lowest sex ratio (519) was recorded at the Nilokehri community health
centre. In urban areas like Assandh, Gharonda, Indri, Tarori, Nilokehri, Karnal and
Nissing, the child sex ratio was recorded at 888, 888, 888, 920, 862, 853 and 879 respectively. These figures are much lower in comparison to rural areas. Dr Vandana
Bhatia, Civil Surgeon, said they were worried over the marginal improvement in the ratio in urban areas. Explaining about reasons behind the low sex ratio in urban areas, she said people in urban areas were aware of medical facilities to prevent the birth of a girl child. "The Health Department has taken required steps to prevent female
foeticide. The department has raided many ultrasound centres in the past couple of months. As many as seven persons, including two doctors, have been convicted under the PNDT Act," she said. |
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INLD unlikely in NDA fold
New Delhi, March 9 There is pressure to include the INLD to shore up Jat votes, but the party does not want to suffer the embarrassment of another public outburst by dissenting party leaders, challenging the need for taking in "tainted leaders" when there was a Narendra Modi wave in the country. Rao Inderjit Singh, who recently quit the Congress, will be the BJP candidate from Gurgaon. In Ambala (Reserved) constituency, former MP and state unit president Rattan Lal Kataria seems to be the front-runner. In Faridabad, it could be a toss-up between former MP Ramchandra Bainda and Krishan Pal Gurjar, MLA from Tigaon in Faridabad. Capt Abhimanyu's name is being considered
for either Sonepat or Rohtak and that of Sudha Yadav for Bhiwani- Mahendragarh. Former Army chief Gen VK Singh, who joined the BJP recently, is being considered for Bhiwani-Mahendragarh and Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. |
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NH-73 four-laning set to get delayed
Yamunanagar, March 9 Sources said YPHPL now wanted to commence work on this project as the case of the 20-km stretch falling in the eco-sensitive zone of Khol ki Ratan wildlife sanctuary, a major hurdle to commence work on this project, was approved by the State Wildlife Board, Haryana, on February 20. The board had forwarded the approval to the National Wildlife Board. However, since the NHAI had accepted the YPHPL closure notice, a fresh tender would have to be floated. Sources said about 35,000 vehicles plied on this national highway everyday. |
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3.5 kg opium, pistol seized from 3 youths
Sonepat, March 9 Keeping in view the ensuing elections, a CIA team was carrying out checking of vehicles on the GT Road today. On seeing the vehicle checking, the driver of the jeep made an attempt to speed away, the DSP said. The alleged accused confessed that they had brought the contraband from Madhya Pradesh for supplying it in Karnal. They had also been arrested by the police for murder and drug trafficking.
— TNS |
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Sensitive booths identified in Jind
Jind, March 9 Jind Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Rattan said the district had 42 hypersensitive and 43 sensitive polling booths. Narwana, Gharoundi, Farain Kalan, Kanhakhera, Karmgarh, Sulhaida, Ganauri, Kharl, Dhamtan and Narwana city have 20 hypersensitive booths. In Safidon, Bhuslana, Safidon city, Budhakhera, Kalwa and Aichra Kalan villages have 12 hypersensitive polling booths. Jind SDM Amrita Siwach conducted an inspection of preparation of the electoral rolls today. She visited many booths and interacted with local people. “Jind has 153 polling stations, out of which 86 are in the rural areas, while the remaining are in city areas. We have been conducting inspection of every booth, but if anyone faces any problem, he must bring it in our notice,” said the SDM during an interactive session at the local Hindu Kanya College. |
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80 Rewari villages see decline in gender ratio
Rewari, March 9 Dr Sarabjit
Thapar, Deputy CMO, Civil Hospital, Rewari, said, “These are the villages where the child sex ration was the lowest as per the 2001 Census. Though we are persistently running awareness programmes on the issue, the decline in the sex ratio is worrisome.” “After going through the figures, we have decided to rope in NGOs and social activists for the awareness programmes being run in these villages to bring a significant improvement in the gender ratio,” said
Thapar. Meanwhile, Virender Hooda, a social activist, said the downward trend had raised doubts over awareness
programmes. “Though the latest figures are as per the department's birth registration records, it indicates towards a grim situation, which can lead to disastrous consequences, if not controlled,” said
Hooda. |
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Punjabi youth urged to work for society welfare
Kaithal, March 9 Sapra called upon the youth to work for the welfare of society and the community. Bali exhorted the youth to learn from the supreme sacrifice of martyrs for the nation. Social worker-cum-industrialist Kailash Bhagat, Haryana Backward Commission member Rakesh Sardana, Dr MS Shah, Amar Jeet Chhabra, Deepak Manchanda and Vinod Midha were special guests. Gurgaon's Medanta Hospital CMD Dr Naresh Trehan's live message was shown to those present on the big screen. He exhorted the youth to work with sincerity and dedication. Parveen Sardana, state president of the sabha, thanked the guests. He said this was an attempt to bring Punjabis from different walks of life on one platform. |
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Parents, groom booked under child marriage Act
Fatehabad, March 9 “This is the first FIR registered in Fatehabad ever since the Act has come into
force,” said Rekha Agarwal, prohibition officer for Fatehabad. A student of Class IX, the girl lived with her grandfather at Hyderwala village in Fatehabad. Her parents, Ram Dass and Kamla Devi, who worked at a brick-kiln, married her off to Dalip Singh (24) from Laluwas village on December 21 last year at Tohana. When the girl’s grandfather came to know, he lodged a complaint with the police and the accused were booked.
— TNS |
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Showing signs of rebellion, Dharambir Singh, Congress MLA from the Sohna Assembly segment, announced his decision to resign from the post of Chief Parliamentary Secretary here today.
Kurukshetra, March 9
