Hamirpur, April 18
BJP candidate Narinder Thakur filed his nomination papers for the Sujanpur Assembly byelection before the Returning Officer at Sujanpur today.

He was accompanied by former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, district BJP president Vijay Agnihotri and BJP Mandal president Rakesh Thakur.

Earlier, a rally was also organised which was addressed by former CM PK Dhumal and other BJP leaders. BSP candidate Praveen Kumar also filed nomination papers from the Sujanpur Assembly constituency.

Total assets 
Worth of Narinder: Rs 1.8 crore 
Moveable assets 
Self: Rs 27,66000
Spouse: Rs 22,37000
Dependent son: Rs 2,15000
Dependent son: Rs 90,000
Dependent daughter: Rs 60,000
His wife owns Hyundai Varana car 
Liabilities: Bank loan Rs 2 lakh
Immovable assets 
Self: 70.8 lakh

Two file papers

Mandi: Two more candidates filed their nomination papers from the Mandi parliamentary constituency here today. Devender Dev from the Bahujan Mukti Party and Kuldeep Singh as an Independent candidate filed their papers before the Retuning Officer, Devesh Kumar. — TNS

Dharamsala, April 18
Former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar filed his nomination papers from Kangra before Returning Officer C Pal Rasu in Dharamsala today. He was accompanied by state president BJP Satpal Satti and his son Vivek Sharma while filing the nomination papers.

Earlier, Shanta Kumar, along with his family, paid obeisance at the Chamunda Devi temple. He then met party workers at Martyrs Park.

Though Shanta had appealed to his party workers to bring just one car from each Assembly constituency to accompany him, an impressive crowd of supporters gathered at Dharamsala to welcome him. After filing the papers, Shanta walked down to the Lions Bhavan building along with his supporters where he addressed a gathering.

Talking to newsmen, Shanta claimed that a wave in favour of the NDA was there in the country and Himachal.

Former ministers Kishan Kapoor, Ramesh Dhawala, Sarveen Chaudhary and former MLAs Rakesh Pathania and Dullo Ram were among the prominent BJP leaders who were accompanying Shanta Kumar.

Dharamsala, April 18
Shanta Kumar, BJP candidate from Kangra, today said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh yesterday attacked him in a public rally in Dharamsala after being reprimanded by the party high command.

He said, "I know after Virbhadra Singh praised me publicly, the Congress high command reprimanded him. It was only under the party high command pressure that Virbhadra has spoken against me. I knew that the attack by Virbhadra against me was coming,” Shanta Kumar said.

Virbhadra alleged that the only achievement of Shanta was his Yamini hotel and the Vivekanand trust.

When asked to comment about the allegation of Virbhadra that he was being made a victim by contesting the election by a rival group in the BJP, Shanta said there was no division in the BJP. All rebels, who had left the party during the last Assembly elections, had rejoined it. He said, "Virbhadra was worried about me. But the CM should worry about himself (indicating towards the CBI inquiry against the CM).

Shanta said everybody knew about my achievements and he did not need to give any explanation.

Shanta also responded for the first time against the criticism of his trust. He said setting up the Vivekanand trust that now had two major health institutions, the Kayakalp, an ayurvedic health centre, and multi-speciality hospital being run JP Sewa Sansthan, was his major achievement.

He said, "I collected Rs 25 crore from people for the health institutions. I contributed Rs 9 lakh for these. As a Union minister, I used to get a salary of Rs 25,000 per month. I contributed the entire salary to the trust. My office expenses were run by my son. I have till date not taken a single penny even as TA/DA from the trust. The only service I have taken is a cup of tea during the board meetings of the trust," Shanta claimed.

The Kayakalp centre had been functioning for the past about six years and had provided subsidized or free treatment worth about Rs 1 crore to the poor, Shanta Kumar said.

He said it seemed that opposition candidates were devoid of issues in the elections as they were levelling personal allegations against him, Shanta said.

The Congress should clarify on the alleged account of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Swiss banks. Reacting to the allegations of Congress candidate Chander Kumar, who sought the details of his MPLAD funds, Shanta said he got Rs 21 crore as MPLAD funds. He spent the entire funds about six months ago. I had even utilised the interest of about Rs 44 lakh earned on the money, he said.

Shanta, however, refused to comment on the open challenge given to him for debate on his honesty by AAP candidate and sitting BJP MP Rajan Sushant. He said his competition was with the Congress and did not want to comment on any allegation by Rajan Sushant. Rajan Sushant yesterday threatened to expose Shanta if he would not debate with him on honesty before April 23.

Palampur, April 18
Senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar, who is contesting the elections from Kangra, said the UPA government in its 10-year regime had failed to check the circulation of black money in the country. This had resulted in large-scale tax evasions, inflation and price rise.

Addressing a rally at Baijnath yesterday, Shanta said it was a matter of serious concern that crores of rupees of the country was lying in foreign banks. He regretted that though the Ministry of Finance was well conversant with the fact and had all detailed information, it failed to initiate efforts to bring back this money to the country.

The BJP leader said the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Directorate of Enforcement had already received documents to this effect (along with the names, addresses of accounts holders and bank account numbers) from many countries in the past five years. Instead of initiating legal action, the UPA government shielded such persons who were either leaders of political parties or their henchmen, he added.

He said recently the investigation wing of the Income Tax Department had received information that money belonging to several Indians was lying in banks of Middle East countries.

Shanta said if the NDA was voted to power, it would make efforts to bring back this money to the country and punish the defaulters. He said if the need arose, the NDA would introduce a legislation to check the circulation of black money in the country.

Shimla, April 18
The BJP has planned its election campaign to reach out to the individual voter by launching “panna contact” programme to go beyond the polling booth level. “Panna” here refers to one page in the electoral rolls.

Active BJP workers from every locality would be assigned the task of contacting every member listed in the allotted page which has 30 to 40 voters.

With the idea to woo the voters through interpersonal contacts, workers familiar with the locality and acquainted with the voters are expected to ensure that they remain in touch with voters till the day of polling, said party spokesperson Ganesh Dutt.

The party plans to make optimal utilisation of its “workforce” and activists of all the wings including ABVP, BMS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Sewa Bharti and other outfits of RSS which would be involved in the programme.

“We want that every individual, whether a BJP sympathiser or supporter or not, be contacted and persuaded to support the party,” said Dutt.

Theog (SHIMLA), April 18
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had become larger than life and all senior leaders had been relegated to the background which reflected the dictatorial attitude of the Gujarat Chief Minister.

Virbhadra today addressed six election meetings in the apple belts of Theog, Gumma, Kotkhai and Kiari in Shimla district. “There are always talks of Modi forming the government and not the BJP which is so strange as an individual is virtually overshadowing the organisation,” he said. He said senior and respected leaders such as LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj and Jaswant Singh had all been sidelined.

Virbhadra also raised questions on the massive funding being pumped into projecting Modi’s image. “The Election Commission of India (ECI) must look into the source of this funding running into several thousand crores as much hype has been created in the media by way of aggressive advertisements, the highest till date that I have seen in my 52-year political life,” he remarked.

He said the source of this finding had to be someone with vested interest who would want to turn a democratic socialist country such as India into a capitalist state, where industrialist and moneyed people would call the shots to suit their convenience at the cost of a common man.

The Chief Minister also raised questions on the BJP fanning religious sentiments to gain political mileage. “A political party which is religious in character can never be good for the country. Moreover, India is a secular country where all religions and faiths co-exist,” he remarked. He said all religions must be respected, but religion must be kept away from politics.

He also accused the BJP of dividing people along regional lines for their vested political interest. “The Congress, which has ensured uniform development of all parts of the state, has never looked at caste, region or other considerations, while the BJP has always tried to exploit,” he said, adding that unlike the BJP which is known for its political opportunism, the Congress believed in undertaking development and taking pro-people decisions.

Speaking on the occasion, Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes urged the people to vote for Rohru MLA and Congress candidate from Shimla, Mohan Lal Brakta. “It is for the first time that the Congress has fielded a candidate from Shimla district as all other candidates in the past hailed from Sirmaur and Solan, so we must ensure his victory,” she urged. She said the Congress during its 10-year-rule at the Centre and 16 months in the state had undertaken a lot of development works.

Speaking at the election meeting, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rohit Thakur cautioned people against false propaganda by the BJP and said the Congress during its brief rule had taken several pro-people decisions. “The BJP sold off the Rs 30-crore carton factory during its regime at barely Rs 1.50 crore, which was a total sell off,” he remarked.

Una, April 18
Anurag Thakur, BJP candidate from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, today promised to spruce up the existing road and rail network in the area to give a boost to religious, adventure and nature tourism after the formation of the NDA government at the Centre.

Addressing a series of election meetings in the Kutlehar Assembly segment, he said there was ample scope of improvement in this sector, which could not only bring employment opportunities, but also additional revenue for the state.

Anurag said the tourism infrastructure would be a true reflection of the local art and culture. Besides, the ambience of the true Himalayan heritage needed to be preserved and propagated, he said.

The BJP candidate said the ongoing work on the Nangal-Una-Talwara railway line would be speeded up and roads would be a priority sector during the NDA regime so that the gap between the rural and the urban areas was narrowed down.

Talking about the farming sector, he said low-cost irrigation schemes would be propagated for increasing production.

Anurag Thakur also stressed upon the need to provide self-employment opportunities to the state's youth. He charged that the “skill development allowance” scheme of the state government, reportedly given for vocational training to the youth was marred with corruption, adding that the government had cheated the unemployed youth of the state by backtracking on its manifesto to give unemployment allowance.

Palampur, April 18
The Election Commission (EC) has restored the polling station at Bara Bhangal, a snow-bound village situated at a height of 13,000 ft above the sea level, in Baijnath subdivision. 

Earlier, the EC had shifted the polling station to Bir, keeping in view the difficult topography of the area. In the earlier elections, the EC had regularly set up a polling station in the village. Residents had lodged a protest last week and pleaded that they would not be able reach the Bir booth. They had also threatened to boycott the polling. — OC

Shimla, April 18
Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury says the party has fielded 101 candidates for the Lok Sabha and both candidates in Himachal would improve on their performance.

"CPM has failed to tap the large-scale anti-Congress and anti-BJP sentiment among people in Delhi, where the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had formed its government in Delhi, harnessed that feeling in the last Assembly elections," said Yechury.

Talking on the sidelines of an election rally, Yechury said CPM had won two top posts of the Shimla Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the country's oldest municipality Shimla, which once used to be the British capital, that showed the door to the Congress and the then ruling BJP candidates. This time, the CPM has fielded two candidates from Shimla and Mandi and the party would improve its position, he said.

As a matter of fact, the CPM had contested the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in 2009 elections, but its candidate Dr Onkar Shad got about 20,000 votes. Yechury remained evasive on the CPM's dismal performance in the 2012 elections, where the party registered its presence in Shimla, Kusumpati and Theog, but in the other 14 seats, its candidates performed poorly and its vote share was a dismal 1.06 per cent.

When asked as to why the CPM cadre had failed to grow in the state or the country on the whole whereas the AAP made its entry with a bang, Yechury said they (AAP) tapped anti-Congress and anti-BJP feelings in Delhi as the party opened its door to "everybody without ideology". But the CPM cannot to do this as the party has to consider certain ideas and principles before they admit people into the party fold, he added.

Yechury said the CPM was in a revisionist mode after assessing its debacle in West Bengal and the phenomenal rise of the AAP in the Delhi elections. There are party workers expressing their concern over "rigid ideological" mindset which is anti-religion and anti-caste, that largely prevents people from entering the cadre that explains as to why the CPM is not growing in the state.

"But this is not the reason as such as they governed West Bengal and the Left still rules Kerala," said Yechury. "AAP is a loose pack of people with different perspectives. Its emergence will be judged by how long it sustains itself in the country," he added.

Kangra, April 18
Chander Kumar, Congress candidate from Kangra, highlighted the contribution of the 14th Lok Sabha and said Rs 70,000 crore loans to farmers were waived off and no bank or society in the country was closed, following the government's decision.

Chander was addressing a public meeting at Kaliyara village in the Shahpur Assembly segment today.

He said when he was a member during the 14th Lok Sabha, the Land Acquisition Bill, Compulsory Education Bill, Right to Information Bill and Bharat Nirman Bill were passed for the uplift of the people.

He said it was the Bharat Nirman Bill that provided road connectivity to all villages. He said under the system improvement plan of the United Progressive Alliance government, the power supply system in the constituency was initiated from Chamba with 90 grant and 10 per cent loan from the Government of India.

He said under the programme, rural electrification system was improved in the constituency.

He charged Shanta Kumar of failing in managing the government twice due to his unrealistic approach. He said for the first time when Shanta became the Chief Minister of the state with 60 Members of Legislative Assembly, he could not manage them while the Congress with decedent Members of Legislative Assembly managed the government in the state headed by Thakur Ram Lal. While he was out of power after two-and-a-half years in his second tenure as the Chief Minister.

He said that during his tenure as the Chief Minister and the Union Minister, Shanta could not bring a major project for the state and no infrastructural development took place.

The meeting was addressed by Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri and Himachal Pradesh Forest Corporation vice-chairman KS Pathania. Pathania expressed confidence that under the leadership of Virbhadra Singh, Congress would win all four seats in the state. 

Shimla, April 18
The Chitra murder case took a new turn today, with social justice committee of Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) headed by Deputy Mayor Tikender Singh Panwar urging the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court to transfer the investigations to the CBI or monitor the progress of investigations.

The committee had conducted a probe and submitted a report to the Chief Justice in a sealed envelope. It had urged him to order a fresh probe into the mysterious death of the 20-year-old woman, under his supervision. It expressed apprehensions that the murder could be part of a flesh trade racket.

Panwar said the finding of the committee was that the entire story was concocted by the police and the erroneous story that “it was due to effect of some evil spirit that had entered the victim who tore her clothes and ran in a naked state” deserved to be demolished.

“Another important revelation was that those who have been arrested are undoubtedly related to the murder, but there were more people at the site who have not been arrested and it was a racket involving flesh trade which the victim was forced into against her wishes," Tikender said, ruing that all the people involved had not yet been arrested.

“The new revelation as per newspaper reports unambiguously proves our point as the semen found on the clothes of Chitra is not of those who have been arrested but of someone else, which means that there was someone else, who has not yet been arrested," it was stated.

"With such background in mind, we reiterate that the case may either be transferred to the Crime Branch of the state police or handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation or the case may proceed under the supervision of the High Court to check the inept handling of the case by the police,” Tikender said in his letter to the Chief Justice.

In its report submitted earlier to the Chief Justice, the committee had put the local police in the dock over “tardy” investigations into the murder. An unclad body bearing head injuries was recovered near Mashobra, 12 km from here, on February 20.

The committee had, on March 18, alleged that the police had conducted the probe in a casual manner and on wrong lines and was about to close the case. 

Chandigarh, April 18
The three-day Kasauli Rythm and Blues Festival, opened at Baikunth Resorts, Kasauli today. Drawing 250 attendees from across the nation and the world, including from Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Switzerland, Denmark, Chandigarh and other parts of the region, it is essentially a music event for a cause.

The third edition of the annual Rythm and Blues Festival has been organised by Genesis foundation in association with the Rolling Stones magazine. The bands will be playing to raise funds, proceeds from which will go into helping underprivileged children suffering from serious health problems. Prema Sagar, co-founder trustee of the Genesis Foundation, shares, “We tie up with several NGOs, including the Mother Teresa Home and Children of the World. This event was conceptualised three years ago, where we collaborated with the Rolling Stones Magazine to get us the bands.”

Talking about the reason why they started with the event, Prema says it was only when she and her husband lost their child that they visited the Mother Teresa Home in order to help children suffering from critical illnesses. “A few years ago, we came up with the idea of Kasauli Rythm and Blues Festival, to celebrate the lives that we have helped save. We organise a similar festival at the Jadavgarh Fort, Pune and it's called the Jadavgarh music festival,” she says.

The festival today saw performances by Delhi-based funk and blues musician Valentine Shipley, who sang a couple of his original tracks. These were seasoned abundantly with what he calls his all-time favourites, Pink Floyd and Eric Clapton. A one-man band now, Valentine has been associated with several bands, including Parikrama and Silk Route.

“I am not making any money from this event. It's for the goodwill that I am performing here. Also, I am all for free music. It is only fair that we give to the world the talent we as musicians have been blessed with,” he said.

As the evening progressed, crowds came pouring in to home in on the notes of electric guitars by the jazz band Kaya, the second ones to take the stage. While Kaya ignited the flames, Ministry of Blues set the stage on fire with their songs, "I will miss you" and "Roadside blues". They played a genre of music that originated in the 1900s, combined distinctly with 21st century fare.

Taking the stage later were the Susmit Sen Chronicles, who, with their distinct style of music, set the tempo for the evening with the classic rock and roll fused with a folk vibe, that complimented the picturesque view from the resort in the backdrop of the grey Himalayan music. “I think the Susmit Sen Chronicles added momentum to the sound of Ministry of Blues and Indus Creed just set the stage on fire. It’s an amazing cultural event,” said Arjun Pandey, a documentary filmmaker.

Though the Indus Creed were the last ones to perform on the first day, they kept the crowd crooning and dancing. “People don’t want to get together and cry or weep at a charity event. Over the years, we have been able to save as many as 500 children who were suffering from cancer and many others, who were in critical condition. This event is a celebration for all the lives that we have been able to save and a hope to save many more,” said Prema.

Kangra, April 18
Seven persons including a woman were arrested under different sections of the Excise Act and more than 1.5 lakh ml country-made liquor and English wine was seized during raids conducted at eight places in the district during the last 24 hours, the police said here today.

Kangra District Additional Police Chief Mohit Chawala said Dharam Chand of Girtholi under Bhawarna police station was arrested and 6,750 ml country-made liquor was seized from his possession. He said Ravi Kumar resident of Natehar was arrested and 6,375 ml of country made liquor and 375 ml English wine was recovered from his possession. He was arrested under Section 39-33-11 of the Excise Act.

ASP Chawala said Nurpur police seized 45,000 ml country made liquor, 27,000 ml English wine and 15,600 ml beer was seized from the shop at Raja Ka Talab and arrested Dinesh Kumar, resident of Raja Ka Talab, under Section 39(1) of HP Excise Act.

He said 6,000 ml of country made liquor was seized from Babli, resident of Dhogar Muhala, Palampur. She was arrested under Section 39-33-12 of HP Excise Act. In another case 4,500 ml of country made liquor was seized from a karyana shop at Pantehar and Santosh Kumar resident of Pantehar was held.

Chawla said 3,000 ml country-made liquor was seized at Bankhandi from Saniyala resident Ramesh Chand, who was arrested. It is reported that 2,250 ml country-made liquor was seized at Jawali Bazar from Dharminder Singh alias Mindho, Sunehar resident, held under Section 39(1) of HP Excise Act. He said 27,000 ml English wine was seized at Panjala from Munish Kumar of Panjala. He was held under Excise Act.