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Have zero tolerance for graft: CM
Invasion of privacy charges
Cong synonymous with corruption: Anurag
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CM justifies security charges from HPCA
UPA govt ignored report on generic drugs, says Shanta
Govt’s help to bring back George Cross sought
Indore college win cricket tournament
Pratibha: BJP trying to divide country for votes
Security tightened for LS poll: DGP
Prabha seeks probe into BJP's election funding
‘BJP leaders resort to mud-slinging’
Satti dares Virbhadra
to open debate
Voters fed up with coalition govts: Joshi
Skill allowance beneficiaries lodge complaint
People want Cong out of power: Punj
Panchen Lama’s b’day celebrated
‘Ambika Soni keen to link Anandpur Sahib, Naina Devi’
Fishermen to boycott poll He said the fishermen would boycott the Lok Sabha poll if the state government did not assure them to accept their demands after
elections. — OC Lok Mitra Kendra operators up in
arms GOC visits Army school
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Have zero tolerance for graft: CM
Jogindernagar (Mandi), April 25 He said, "There is no Modi wave in the state nor the BJP is in good position here as a result of which the Congress is going to win four seats". He said, "I have represented the Mandi constituency for a long time and always worked for development of the area and Congress governments have major contribution in the development of the state." Talking about educational institutes started in Mandi district during the UPA regime, he said, "The opening of ESIC medical college and IIT here are big achievements since students from the state and local people will be benefited by these, besides adding to prestige of the area." Attacking local MLA Gulab Singh Thakur, he said, "For seeking flag and ministerial birth, he even changed sides and joined the BJP but has failed to perform in the area despite having an important Cabinet portfolio in the previous BJP government." Local leader Surender Pal Thakur and others also addressed the
meetings. |
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No interim relief for
former DGP
HP High Court issues notices to Centre, state government Vijay Arora
Shimla, April 25 The petitioner challenged the same before the high court by way of petition. Issuing notices, a division bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary directed both the governments to file a reply within two weeks. The memorandum issued by the state government levelled two charges against the petitioner. It was alleged that Bhandari, while posted as ADGP CID from January 2008 to August 2012, got bugging device (micro recorder) implanted in the room where Virbhadra Singh, the then Central Minister for Steel, was to stay at Himachal Bhawan, Chandigarh, in September 2010, with intent to breach privacy. The second charge relates to directions given by the petitioner to a police officer Mukesh Kumar to depute two officials of CID to visit Chandigarh for placing bugging devices in the room. It was alleged that after getting the recording done, the petitioner copied the data on to a pen drive and directed the police officer to delete the recording from the computer. The state government added that these two charges reflected that the petitioner had failed to maintain discipline and devotion to duty and acted in a manner unbecoming of a responsible officer. It was alleged that the petitioner had contravened the rules of All India Service. The petitioner contended that the government action was against the law and in violation of principles of natural justice. It was maintained that the petitioner was not supplied with the documents which formed the basis of this inquiry, therefore he was not in a position to file a reply within 10 days. It was contended that the memorandum was issued without jurisdiction and smacked of mala fide intent. Case file
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Cong synonymous with corruption: Anurag
Addressing election meetings at Bharedi, Jahu, Manvin, Jakhyol, Khutdi, Ladraur, Paroiyan, Raipur, Tihra, Hatli, Arlu, Dolu, Sihana, Chamedi and Daroh in Bhoranj and Kutlehar segments in Hamirpur district, he said the Congress had become synonymous with corruption. Questioning the Congress over Rs 10 lakh crore swindled through scams over the past 10 years, he said the people would never forgive the Congress for corruption. "Had the money pocketed by Congress leaders been spent on development and welfare of people, the country would have neither faced inflation nor unemployment," he said. Anurag said the subsidised ration was not being provided to people in fair price shops by the state government while Congress leaders were busy printing their photographs on ration bags for publicity. "The day is not far when Virbhadra will be left with no other option but to resign when the CBI indicts him in
the alleged corruption cases," he said. Launching an attack on his opponent Rajinder Rana, Anurag said even the Congress knew that there was no possibility of winning the poll hence it had given the ticket to an outsider. "People have made up their mind to vote out the Congress and pave the way for the formation of a BJP government at the Centre," he said. He also questioned Virbhadra on the promised unemployment allowance to the youth which he hadn't given. "The Congress is now trying to fool the people of the state by giving the skill development allowance," he said. Cong set to lose
Even the Congress knows that there is no possibility of winning the poll hence it has given the ticket to an outsider. People have made up their mind
to vote out the Congress and pave the way for the formation of a BJP government at
the Centre. |
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CM justifies security charges from HPCA
Talking to mediapersons at Baijnath last evening, Virbhadra said the state government was bound to recover the security charges, running into crores, from the HPCA. It was a commercial body and it should have no objection in making payments to the state government, he said. He regretted that the HPCA was making it a political issue and criticising his government for pursuing a vendetta against the HPCA. He said being head of the state, he was morally bound to protect the interests of the state and, therefore, he had asked the Director-General of Police to submit bills to the HPCA for the recovery of security charges. He said a poor state like Himachal could not afford to provide free security to the HPCA. He clarified that the recovery would be made as per the provisions of law and no illegal action would be initiated against the HPCA. Though the previous government had not recovered the security charges from the HPCA, his government would not commit such lapses, he said. He alleged that the HPCA had illegally encroached upon the state government land in Dharamsala and he was committed to getting it vacated and restored to the departments concerned. He stated that no officer would be spared who had helped the HPCA in taking over the illegal possession of government land. The Chief Minister said Vigilance agencies had already established the illegal transfer of the original body of the HPCA into a company registered in Kanpur. Terming it a serious matter, he said the state government would take this case to a logical end and would not spare the guilty. In reply to a question, Virbhadra said he was not against cricket, but he was opposed to the monopolisation of the game in certain hands, particularly outsiders, in the state. He said his fight was for handing over the HPCA to local cricket lovers who were the real custodians. |
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UPA govt ignored report on generic drugs, says Shanta
Dharamsala, April 25 Had the suggestion been accepted, the people in the country would have got cheap access to drugs, he stated while talking to The Tribune today. Kumar said he was a member of the parliamentary committee on generic drugs. The committee had noticed that the prices of branded drugs were many times those of generic drugs. The committee had recommended that doctors should be bound to recommend generic drugs. The UPA government did not accept the recommendations of the parliamentary committee, apparently under pressure from the drug manufacturers lobby, Kumar said. Under attack from Virbhadra Singh, who has been alleging during the election campaign that Shanta Kumar has not done anything for the state, the BJP candidate claimed he was instrumental in getting 12.5 per cent royalty from power projects for the state government during the stint of the NDA. The state was earning a royalty of about Rs 2,000 crore per annum from the power projects, he said. Kumar said during his stint as Union Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the NDA government, the state benefited the most from the Antodya programme. He claimed that during his stint as CM, the problem pertaining to acute water shortage in areas of lower Himachal was solved. It was under the BJP's pressure that the Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh had to pay heed to development of Kangra, Kumar claimed. He also addressed a rally at Sidhbari near Dharamsala. Balbir Punj, in charge, BJP party affairs, Himachal, while addressing the rally, said during the rule of the NDA government led by then PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, benefits were given to the state. He said the UPA government had only withdrawn benefits like Himachal's industrial package. Former minister Kishan Kapoor, while addressing the rally, said development of Dharamsala region had taken the backseat in the past one and a half years. |
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Govt’s help to bring back George Cross sought
Shimla, April
25 Brahmi Devi, 81, widow of George Cross recipient Naik Kirpa Ram of the British Indian Army, has urged the state government to approach the Indian High Commissioner in London to collect the medal lying in the safe vault of the Courts of England and Wales on her behalf as she has no resources to send her own representative overseas. A letter on behalf of Brahmi Devi will be given to Chief Secretary P Mitra by retired bureaucrat SS
Chandel, who has been closely associated with the case. It was Chandel who was instrumental in getting the auction of the medal stalled in December 2009 and set the ball rolling for return of the medal to the widow. It was last week that the solicitors of Brahmi Devi conveyed to her that she should get the medal collected as it was not possible for her lawyer Vijay Sharma and the London-based donor Dr Lalvani who gave money to pay the 12,000 pounds to Nath to come to India. As such, it has now been decided to use the diplomatic channel to bring it back to India. Even though it has been almost four months since the Queen’s Bench court in London gave the go-ahead for return of the medal to the valiant soldier’s widow, owing to paucity of funds, it was not possible for her to send her representative to collect the medal. The medal had been given to Brahmi Devi in 1946 as a 13-year-old widow of Naik Kirpa Ram who served as a Piffer in the 8th Battalion, 13 Frontier Force, British Indian Army. A native of Bhapral village, she had got an FIR registered about the theft of the medal in Bilaspur on February 3, 2002. It was after waging a four-year legal battle led by London-based solicitor Vijay Sharma that Brahmi Devi has been able to get back the medal which was up for auction at Dix Noonan Webb Limited in London on December 3, 2009. Following this, the Himachal Police, with the help of the External Affairs Ministry, took up the matter with the British police. However, it was on June 5, 2013, that the Queen’s Bench Division in London put its stamp of approval on the out-of-court agreement arrived at between Brahmi Devi and Ashok
Nath, the claimant of the George Cross. The deadline of December 31, 2013, was set for payment of 12,000 pounds to
Nath, for return of the medal. Sequence of events
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Indore college win cricket tournament
Solan, April 25 Aldrin Jaru scored 60 runs in just 27 balls enabling the hosts to score 171 runs for the loss of three wickets in the stipulated 20-over match. For Daly College, Priyansh Sojatia, Shreyam Agarwal and Zenith Angel took a wicket each. They not only appeared to be in control from the very beginning, but also scored 81 runs for the first wicket thereby making the task of the proceeding batsmen much easier. Rudraksh Jain made a comfortable 52 and Zenith Angel contributed precious 71 runs and remained unbeaten. Unleashing a glittering array of strokes, Nitiraj Singh added 21 runs in just 13 balls, while Mayank Verma scored 17 runs in nine balls enabling their team to wrap up the match by five wickets. Abhinav Jain was the only bowler to make an impression on the batsmen. He took two wickets for the home team, while Aamin Setia and Aldrin Jaru added a wicket each for Pinegrove. Zenith Angel was adjudged as man of the match for his superlative performance. Daly College team grabbed most of the prizes. The best bowler award was given to Shreyam Aggarwal of Daly College, Indore. Nitiraj Singh of the same school won the best wicketkeeper prize. The best fielder award was taken by Zenith Angel also from Daly College. The best batsman award was taken by Rajvansh Thakur of Pinegrove. Aldrin Jaru from Pinegrove walked away with the player of the tournament award. Exceptional performance awards were given to Nitiraj Singh and Rajvansh for scoring centuries during the tournament, while Arjun and Gurinder were awarded special prizes for taking hat tricks in the league matches. Col Rajan Kadian, Commanding Officer, 1HP, NCC Boys Battalion, Solan, was the chief guest on the occasion who gave away the prizes.
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Pratibha: BJP trying to divide country for votes
Duddar (Mandi), April 25 She said, “Instead the Congress is seeking votes on the work done by the UPA government during the last 10 years and various development works undertaken by the Central and the state governments.” Talking about various schemes launched by the UPA government for empowerment of women, she said, “The MGNREGA has proved a milestone in women empowerment and helped them in becoming creating self-reliant.” “The Central Government has also started a national livelihood scheme through which women self-help groups are being given financial aid for making these sustainable”, she added. She said, “Despite my short stint in Parliament, I have taken up several issues concerning the state with the Central Government and have also been able to seek relief for flood-hit Kinnaur district.” “Similarly, a tourism development plan for the state, expansion of air strips, starting Spicejet service, one-rank, one-pension issue, funds for ESIC medical college, etc are also pursued by me,” she added. Addressing the meeting, Rural Development Minister and local MLA Anil Sharma said, “The Congress has always stood for development and we are going to people to seek votes for the work done by Congress
governments.” |
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Security tightened for LS poll: DGP
Chamba, April 25 This was stated by Himachal Director-General of Police
(DGP) Sanjay Kumar while addressing mediapersons here today. The DGP said over 10,000 security personnel, 6,000 Home Guard
jawans, 45 companies of the CISF, ITBP, besides Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police had been requisitioned for free, fair and peaceful elections in the state. The
DGP, who was in the district for two days, took stock of security arrangements on the district borders adjacent to the J&K (stretching for about 215 km). He said 352 polling stations had been identified as hypersensitive where police and
para-military forces would keep a strict vigil. Besides, 103 static surveillance teams, patrolling parties and flying squads had been constituted, which would be working in coordination with nearest police stations in the state. Other precautionary measures such as to keep tabs on illicit liquor and flow of money had been taken when the model code of conduct was promulgated with the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, the DGP said. To keep a tight security cover at the 17 collection centres of electronic voting machines
(EVMs) in the state, the deployment of para-military forces, including the police, ITBP and other forces, had been made, the DGP said, adding that the counting of votes would be done at the EVM collection centres under the security cover. He said on the poll date, the EVMs would be brought to the collection centres under the security cover. Moreover, security forces and police personnel had been directed to keep watch on anti-social elements round-the-clock during the Lok Sabha elections, the DGP claimed. SP DK Chaudhary also accompanied the DGP during the press conference. |
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Prabha seeks probe into BJP's election funding
Palampur, April 25 Addressing a press conference here today, Prabha urged the Election Commission to look into the matter and probe the funding of the BJP. She quoted though the Election Commission had imposed a limit of Rs 70 lakh per candidate as the expenditure for the parliamentary elections, BJP leaders were opening flouting this limit and spending crores of rupees for the elections. She said the BJP had become a one-man party and Modi had emerged as a super leader who had been commanding the party like a dictator. She said it was a matter of concern that till date, Modi never promised to check the rising prices of essential commodities, petroleum products, combat unemployment, poverty and hunger, if voted to power. His sole agenda was to criticise Congress leaders by launching a sinister campaign against them in media. She alleged that certain media houses in connivance with the BJP had launched a unhealthy campaign on electronic channels to tarnish the image of the Congress and its leaders. In reply to a question, she said the Congress had no funds to feed media houses like the BJP. She said Modi had spent a large amount for hiring media agencies to boost his election campaign, which needed a probe, she added. |
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‘BJP leaders resort to mud-slinging’
Palampur, April 25 Kaul Singh said such cheap tactics would not help the BJP. He hoped that people of the state would express their faith in the Congress leadership and the Congress would win all four seats from the state. Addressing mediapersons, Kaul Singh said people of the state had already rejected the BJP in the Assembly elections. He alleged that defective policies and planning of the BJP had resulted in unemployment and poverty in the state. As and when the BJP ruled the state, development activities came to a standstill, he alleged. The minister said there was no Modi wave in the state and predicted Shanta Kumar and Anurag Thakur would face defeat in the coming elections. He said the Congress was the only party which had the vision to help the poor, downtrodden, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes of the country. The UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already launched several welfare schemes for the betterment of the people. |
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Satti dares Virbhadra
to open debate
Shimla, April 25 He said the Congress has failed to control the price rise of essential commodities and even subsidies on domestic gas have been cut down. Consumers face shortage of ration at depots, he charged. Satti demanded that he should clarify who are
the beneficiaries under the Rajiv Gandhi Ann Yojana and should explain as to why was it changed
to Skill Development Allowance. Satti charged that Virbhadra Singh should answer the public on this issue, as his government gave employment to “tired and retired employees instead of creating job opportunities for the youth”. Satti said Virbhadra should inform the public as to what steps he took to curb corruption in the state. “Corruption cannot be contained by implicating opponents in false cases,” he alleged. |
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Voters fed up with coalition govts: Joshi
Una, April 25 Addressing mediapersons here, he said the people had, therefore, made up their mind to support the BJP during the General Election. He said Narendra Modi was seen as a right prime ministerial candidate when the issues of corruption, inflation, internal and external insecurity and unemployment were rampant in the country. He said the BJP would win more than 300 seats on its own. Joshi, a former Congress man and four-time MLA from the Santoshgarh (now Haroli) segment, had joined the BJP this month. He said while during the NDA rule, there was improvement on all fronts, coalition governments had their own compulsions as all partners had to be taken along in a
thin majority. |
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Skill allowance beneficiaries lodge complaint
Una, April 25 The scheme was initiated by the state Congress government recently to provide vocational training to financially backward categories to enable them to earn a livelihood. They said the institution was providing training in trades such as cutting and tailoring, hair cutting and beauty culture. They said about 70 beneficiaries were getting training at the institution and each candidate was paying a monthly fee of Rs 500. They alleged that due to some proprietary and ownership issues, their training had been stopped. They said the institution was inspected in February by the Centre certification committee and it was later de-notified for skill development training, but they were not informed about this decision. They also demanded a probe into the matter. |
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People want Cong out of power: Punj
Dharamsala, April 25 He said Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had just one agenda - To criticise Modi. "They are not spelling their own development agenda before the people of the country," he said. He said it was unfortunate that the person who remained the PM for 10 years had almost fled the Congress election campaign. He said Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh would get trapped in a CBI inquiry in VBS diaries case. "There is a foolproof case of money laundering and corruption against Virbhadra Singh. He cannot escape it. In case he is trapped in the case, there would be a change of leadership that would lead to fall of the Congress government in the state," said Punj. |
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Panchen Lama’s b’day celebrated
Dalhousie, April 25 Tibetan settlement officer, Dalhousie, Jigma Dorgee gave a detailed account of the freedom struggle of Tibet and threw light on the life of the Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who has been in the Chinese custody for the last two decades. Students of the Central School for Tibetans, Dalhousie, presented a cultural programme on the occasion. Dr Dhillon, in his address, said the presence of the Tibetan community had added a unique and solemn dimension to the town. |
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‘Ambika Soni keen to link Anandpur Sahib, Naina Devi’
Shimla, April 25 Agnihotri said Soni had personally spoken with the Chief Minister so that decks could be cleared for the project. The ropeway project would facilitate pilgrims, besides strengthening inter-state relations between two states. He said Soni was keen that the ambitious 3.75-km project to link the famous shrines of Naina Devi in Himachal Pradesh and Anandpur Sahib in Punjab would be reconsidered, which would not only boost tourism activities in both states, but also facilitate pilgrims visiting the shrine. |
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Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said today that the cases of corruption, which were being probed by the state government, left PK Dhumal agitated.
Dharamsala, April 25
Duddar (Mandi), April 25
Shimla, April 25
Shimla,
March 25
Palampur, April 25