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Rift among top leadership in city BJP deepens
Chandigarh, May 24 On Friday as well, during a BJP programme, Jain had not attended the function organised by the Sanjay Tandon “camp”, whereas Dhawan had left the programme midway. On today’s development, when contacted, Aarti Mehra denied any rift in the party and said maybe Satya Pal Jain was in Delhi, therefore, he did not attend the meeting. But the ground reality was that Jain was in the city and he even attended a programme at Panjab University with Kirron Kher later in the day. When contacted, Jain refused to make any comment on the rift within the party. Whereas Tandon said every member of the BJP core group committee was invited for the meeting. In the meeting, which was held at UT Guest House, Sector 6, today, election results of the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat were discussed. Besides, the party also discussed the problem of stray dogs and decided to table an agenda on the issue in the coming MC house meeting. Opposition leader Arun Sood, said the party would bring an agenda in the house meeting to propose amendments in the Act to control the stray dog menace in the city. Besides, the party would also propose that the MC should bear all expenditure of stray dog-bite victim’s vaccination and vaccine should be provided at all dispensaries as well, he said.
BJP city unit in-charge denies differences in party
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Lie-detector test on girl sought Victim’s family feels survivor girl concealing facts during police investigation Hina Rohtaki Tribune News Service
Panchkula, May 24 “We want that a lie-detector test be done on the girl so that we know what really happened to our son on the day of the accident. In almost every answer of the girl there were contradictions and she put the entire blame on Saman. She is not even aware of the timings. We have asked the police to conduct the test on the girl, said Saman’s father Rajender Prasad. About the usage of internet for 25 minutes at 10.05 am on April 20, the girl had claimed that there was no network as she had fallen into a groge, but the reports confirm the usage. ACP Jagtar Singh, who is heading SIT said, “When we asked her regarding the usage of internet, she said that the account of some Pooja Gulati in Dubai, who is her sister, remained logged in, so the net may have got connected and the messages that were sent earlier got delivered at that time.” On this, Saman’s family questioned how come internet could work where there was no network, as claimed by the girl? In her fresh statement to SIT, the girl said that they had not driven to Tikar Tal but had driven just one kilometer ahead of the accident spot in Morni. Earlier, she had told the police that they had gone to Tikar Tal. The girl said the two sat in the area for some time and then they began their journey back. Several contradictions surfaced during interrogation. Initially, she was reluctant to participate in the investigation but later on she agreed,” said the ACP. On asking about how the accident took place, the survivor girl told the police that Saman was in an inebriated state, but the post-mortem reports of Saman did not confirm the presence of alcohol in his body. The family also told the police that no liquor bottle was recovered from the accident vehicle. The post-mortem reports stated presence of semi-digested food material in the stomach and small amount of chime in the small intestines. Regarding the lie-detector test, the ACP said, “We will consult our senior officials.” The case: On the intervening night of April 19 and 20, Saman Dhanak, grandson of former Haryana Minister Amar Singh Dhanak, died when his car fell in a 60-foot deep gorge in Morni hills. His female friend suffered serious injuries. It was after the family raised several missing links in the police investigation that an SIT was formed. Police still groping in the dark: Even after 18 days of the formation of SIT, the police are still groping in the dark. Now, they are awaiting the mechanical report of the car from the CFSL, Madhuban.
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UT officials’ dinner diplomacy with MP Kirron
Kher
Chandigarh, May 24 At Dhawan’s residence, senior UT officials, including Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) Chairman Satya Gopal, Additional Secretary (Home)-cum-Secretary Information Technology (IT) Prerna Puri, UT Police IG RP Upadhyay and UT Chief Conservator of Forests, Santosh Kumar, met Kirron and Dhawan. Though the officials maintained that there was nothing special about the meeting, yet the presence of three out of four officials, who have either completed their tenure with the UT Administration or granted extension by the MHA after the completion of their tenure, makes the meeting ‘special’. Two top BJP leaders, including city unit president Sanjay Tandon and former MP Satya Pal Jain were not aware of Kirron’s dinner with the senior UT officials. When contacted, Dhawan refused to make any comment on the issue. Despite repeated calls and SMSes to Satya Gopal, Prerna Puri and Santosh Kumar, they did not respond. Recently the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued transfer orders of Satya Gopal to Arunachal Pradesh. The UT Administration is expected to write to the MHA to extend Satya Gopal’s tenure. Similarly, Prerna Puri’s one-year extension completed recently. Santosh Kumar’s tenure is almost over in the UT Administration, sources added.
What makes the meeting special
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Mohali Police yet to arrest accused
Our Correspondent
Mohali, May 24 Swarndeep Singh, SP (City), said an inquiry into the incident was being conducted and action in this regard would be taken only after the completion of the probe. He said the other party had said that baseless allegations had been made by the complainant. According to the FIR registered at the Matour police station, Aftab Singh had returned home in Phase VII after a walk at around 7.30 pm. He was closing the main gate of the house when Bunny Kahlon, who lived in a house in front of the retired Judge’s house, allegedly came towards him, using abusive and threatening language.He then allegedly hit Aftab Singh on his head with a hockey stick. Aftab Singh fell unconscious, but when he regained consciousness, Bunny Kahlon had fled the scene. It was stated in the FIR that in 2012, when Aftab Singh was standing outside his house on the New Year’s Day, Bunny Kahlon’s wife had wished him Happy New Year and in response he had given his blessings by touching her head. This was not liked by Bunny Kahlon and since then he allegedly nursed a grudge against him. The police had registered a case under Sections 307, 452, 506 and 323 of the IPC in this regard.
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No public darbar for over 4 months now
Chandigarh, May 24 Sources revealed that it was for the first time that no public darbar was held for over four months. But a senior UT official maintained that since there was the model code of conduct in force during the Lok Sabha elections, therefore no public darbar was organised. But next month, the public darbar will be organised, he assured. Before January 6, it was only on September 2, 2013, that a public darbar was held wherein only four persons turned up. It is not only this year, but last year as well, Patil had cancelled many public hearing sessions. Due to poor redressal of complaints, there has been a dip in the number of residents appearing before the
Administrator in the public hearing sessions. There is no record with the UT Administration about the present status of the complaints, which were heard by Patil during his three-year tenure. In a majority of cases, officials of the UT Administration do not know whether the complainant, who had met Patil during the public darbar, got justice or not.
Process of filing complaint
The IT Department of the UT Administration prepares a list of complainants after proper screening process. The IT Department also seeks reply from the department concerned against which the complaint has been submitted. The complaint and the response of the department concerned are put before the UT Administrator at the public hearing session. Requesting anonymity, a senior official of the UT Administration said that earlier, the ‘darbar’ was held on the first and third Monday of every month and residents were aware of the schedule. But for the past four years, the authorities cancelled the public hearing sessions on most of the occasions, he added. Patil attended his first public hearing session on February 1, 2010. The heads of all the departments concerned were present to redress the grievances put forth by the 13 complainants.
Poor response
July 15, 2013: Only five residents turned up September 2, 2013:
Only four persons were present February 4, 2014: Only eight persons attended the session
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Missing children Mehakdeep Grewal Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 24 As per the report’s finding, among the 35 untraced children cases, the police authorities did not have the address of nine of them, while in five cases the address available with the police authorities was invalid. Rajesh Jogpal, secretary of the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights, shared the insights of the report during a workshop addressing International Missing Children’s Day organised by the CCPCR at the UT Guest House here today. He said as per the data collected by the department, out of the 196 children who went missing, 14 children belonged to the age group of 0-6, while 39 were from 7 to 14, 141 were from 15 to 18. Among them 89 were males and 107 were females. The report’s findings also highlighted the reasons behind the missing cases. As per the report, 25 children had gone missing due to domestic violence, while 59 had eloped, 11 were cases of kidnapping while the report failed to give reasons for other 100 cases. On the family background of the children, Jogpal said 161 cases of missing children were from families with annual income of Rs 50,000. Out of the children that have been traced, 12 have been rehabilitated at Snehalaya, a destitute home. Eleven of them were the victims of domestic violence and one of domestic child abuse. Meanwhile, the secretary claimed that among all missing cases there was not a single one which involved human trafficking or organised beggary. He said there were a few cases where the children had got reunited with their family but the police were still not aware. According to the authorities a large number of missing cases, around 92, were from the rural areas and 143 from nuclear families. The social activists, who participated in the workshop, demanded that each police station should have the list of child welfare committee members. The issue of surrogate-disabled children for adoption was also highlighted during the workshop.
Panchayat members left workshop midway
Village panchayat members, who came to attend the workshop, left midway alleging that there was a huge communication gap between them and the speakers. Sadu Singh, sarpanch of Sarangpur, said: “We have told the authorities earlier also that they should conduct these workshops either in Hindi or Punjabi, since we are not familiar with English. The literature that was distributed by the department and the presentations that they show were in English”. The panchayat members also alleged that since they failed to understand various talks and presentations that were made, they would not be able to further explain them to their native village population.
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GMADA told to lay underground pipes at Madanpur village
Our Correspondent
Mohali, May 24 An application was moved by Jasvir Kaur of the village alleging that during the rainy season, rainwater entered their houses causing loss and damage to household goods as well as buildings and created insanitary conditions in the village. According to her, in 2011 a 100-ft-long boundary wall of the village had collapsed on account of the accumulation of the rainwater. She prayed for issuing directions to the chief engineer, Public Health and Sanitation, GMADA, and the estate officer, GMADA, to make arrangements for the discharge of rainwater. On the notice issued to the GMADA, it contended that the work of water supply and sewerage was done by the Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Board financed by GMADA and after completion, it was handed over to the Municipal Corporation (MC), Mohali. Therefore, it was their duty to keep the area neat and clean. The Lok Adalat issued a notice to the MC, which said the work in question was entrusted to the executive engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation, Division No. 1, and the said official was responsible for maintaining the system. The Lok Adalat then issued a notice to the executive engineer, who said the original work on the sewerage of Madanpur was done by them with funds provided by the GMADA. Thereafter, the work was handed over to GMADA, which further handed it over to the MC. It was admitted that the executive engineer was now looking after the annual maintenance of the sewerage and no work relating to storm water drainage had been done in the village. Since each party was putting responsibility on the other for laying the drains for storm water, the Lok Adalat directed them to convene a meeting and decide as to which of them was responsible for doing the job. At the meeting, they decided that it would be done by GMADA. The Lok Adalat, deciding on merits, said at a meeting held on June 1, 2001, it was decided that the then PUDA would work for the development of the village. On November 16, 2010, also, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Punjab Chief Minister to improve amenities and rehabilitation of the villagers and it was decided that the entire cost of development of Madanpur would be borne by GMADA. The Lok Adalat, therefore, said GMADA should make arrangements for draining out of rainwater, preferably by laying underground pipes. It was directed to complete the work within three months, preferably before the coming rainy season, and pay costs to the complainant.
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Shiamak Davar’s dance workshop now in
Ambala
Chandigarh, May 24 The Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts will conduct its first dedicated dance workshop from June 9 to 25 at SD Vidya Toddlers in the Ambala Cantonment. The workshops follow a unique mix of dance styles, which are Shiamak's trademark, combining fitness, exercise and coordinated movement with grace, rhythm and harmonious blend. The fortnight-long workshop would train participants on the concept of dance, helping them participate in a medley of numbers. The choreographed pieces would form a part of an ensemble performance to be staged on June 26 at the SD College auditorium during the grand finale. Atul Khanna, Director of the foundation, said: “The highlight of the workshop is the fact that each participant would get a chance to take part in the show, overcoming any stage fear they may have. It clearly sees a magical transformation as all dancers learn to shed their inhibitions, acquire a grace that then becomes a natural part of their personas and develop a love for dance”.
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108 ambulance staff continue stir
Mohali, May 24 Assistant Civil Surgeon JK Bansal said as per the orders of the Managing Director (MD) of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation, the 108 ambulances were sent to the designated places in the district. It took some time to arrange the drivers and security personnel for the vehicles. These had been stationed at Kurali, Landran, Lalru, Boothgarh, Kharar, Banur, Dera Bassi, Dhakoli and Mohali, the MD said. Bikramjit Singh Saini, senior vice-president of the 108 Employees Association, Punjab, said the protesters had burnt an effigy of the Health Minister and also blocked the traffic for some time on the national highway near the Civil Hospital. He said the state had made no efforts to hold talks with the protesting employees. The protesters also staged a dharna on the Civil Hospital premises. They said the private firm running the 108 services was making them work for 12 hours and allegedly paying them for eight hours of work. Sometimes salaries were not given on time.
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54 PCR vehicles fail to trace a car
Chandigarh, May 24 Deputy Superintendent of Police Ashish Kapoor said: “I flashed the message that anyone who catches the Endeavour car will be awarded Rs 500. But the person could not be nabbed.” The Deputy Superintendent of Police said: “The driver was driving rashly so he was asked to stop. However, when he didn’t stop the car, I flashed the message.” Sources said the car was earlier impounded by the Chandigarh Police in a different case. The incident has exposed the alertness of the policemen who were in the field to check bad elements. As many as 54 PCR vehicles are on the job at
night and nakas are laid at several points to keep a check on anti-social
elements.
The case: The message was flashed at 11.40 pm on Friday that a car bearing Punjab’s registration number was asked to stop near Madhya Marg, but it sped away.
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No headway in Congress leader’s murder case
Mohali, May 24 According to reports, Shergill had operated two ATMs in Kharar on May 18 and withdrew Rs 5,000 from each ATM. He had left his house on that day saying that he was going to Delhi. Whether the amount withdrawn from the banks was spent by him or not was not clear because the police had failed to recover any cash when his body was found. It is learnt that the CIA staff has rounded up two persons from Mansa and Patiala for questioning. The police claim to have recovered nine SIM cards and five cellphones during the course of its investigation. The decomposed body of Shergill was found in an SUV that was abandoned along a footpath near a park in Sector 69 on May 21. Shergill was a resident of Kharar.
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Attack on AAP supporter in Mohali Our Correspondent
Mohali, May 24 The protesters alleged that a prominent SAD leader was behind the attack. Balwinder Singh Kumbra, the AAP supporter and president of the Zila Panchayat Union, his two sons, Mandeep Singh and Hardeep Singh, and a nephew, Surinder Singh, were reported to have sustained injuries in the attack. Later, Balwinder Singh and one of his sons were admitted to a hospital. Balwinder Singh said they had been called to the the SP(D) office here today to record their statements in the case. While they were returning home, they were followed by car-borne persons who allegedly made an attempt to attack them. Balwinder had campaigned for Himmat Singh Shergill, Aam AAdmi Party candidate from the Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency, in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.
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Tata Docomo’s exclusive offer
Tata Docomo, telecom brand of Tata Teleservices Limited, on Saturday announced the exclusive offer of providing an 8 GB micro SD card on activating Photon Max/3G Wi-Fi. Timed for summer holidays, the offer is only valid on post paid rental plans of over or equal to Rs 750.The offer is valid up to June 30. 2 cricket fans win award
Kingfisher Premium, The King of Good Times, extended another opportunity to its fans to bowl out their favourite cricket heroes through the fun consumer activation ‘Kingfisher Bowl Out’. Fifteen lucky fans bowled three star players from Kings XI Punjab. Cricketers Wriddhiman
Saha, Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra were seen showcasing their batting prowess off the pitch and having a blast interacting with their biggest fans from the city. Shaminder and Dinesh Kumar won Rs 10,000 each for getting Wriddhiman Saha bowled-out in their second delivery.
— TNS
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Common entrance Test Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 24 Students appeared for physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, biotechnology and computer science tests at 44 examination centres on the PU campus and other colleges in the city. While 21 examination centres were on the campus itself, the remaining 23 were set up in the city colleges. Even as the university had made special arrangements at the auditoriums of the law and English departments, they proved to be of little help as a majority of parents and guardians accompanying students were unaware about these. Sushma, who came with her younger daughter from Himachal Pradesh for her elder daughter’s exam, was sitting in the garden outside the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) department to escape the scorching heat. She said she did not know that the authorities had made arrangements for the parents as well. She said since morning, members of various students unions turned up with pamphlets to assist the students for counselling, but nobody informed them about the facilities for parents. Outside the English auditorium, Karamjeet Singh, the guardian of a student, said a number of parents were going to the washrooms in the library building to ease them. Alleging mismanagement, Rajesh Sharma, a parent waiting in the law auditorium, said, “Since morning, we are requesting the staff to switch on the air conditioner of the hall, but they acceded to our request after three hours. Since the atmosphere in the auditorium was suffocating, a number of parents and guardians left the hall within an hour,” he said. PU Controller of Examinations Prof Parvinder Singh claimed that those accompanying the students were informed about the arrangements but they were sitting outside on their own. Meanwhile, Prof Parvinder Singh informed that 11,571 students appeared for the physics exam, 11,574 for chemistry, 4,766 for biology, 7,315 for mathematics, 93 for biotechnology and 452 students appeared for the computer science exam.
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Dental check-up
Chandigarh: Students of St Joseph’s Senior Secondary School, Sector 44 D, Chandigarh, underwent dental check-up. A team of 10 dentists headed by Dr. Ikrid Singh, from Dr Harvansh Singh Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Panjab University, Chandigarh, apprised the students of the ways to maintain healthy teeth. Investiture ceremony
AKSIPS-45 held its investiture ceremony to mark the leadership qualities of its students. The executive director of AKSIPS Group of Schools, Jasdeep
Kalra, exhorted the newly inducted school appointments to take up their new responsibilities with enthusiasm, courage and zeal for the betterment of students and the school as a whole. In the end, school principal Harpreet Kaur motivated the newly elected prefects to give their best while shouldering their responsibilities. Students
honoured
GMHS-36 organised a ceremony on Saturday to honour the students who scored well in the CBSE Class X examinations. The school authorities informed that the 88 students of the school who appeared in the examinations came out with flying
colours. Heena Aggarwal and Saurav scored 10 CGPA while Vanshika scored 9.8, Manpreet 9.8, Gaurav 9.6, Navita 9.4, Shahnaz 9.2 and Krittivas 9.2. The school claimed to have attained the second best results out of 86 government schools in Chandigarh and topped in high schools. School headmaster Rakesh Sood congratulated the students and thanked teachers for the hard work they put in. Students visit traffic park
During a one-week personality development programme of Banyan Tree School, students of classes XI and XII visited the Children Traffic Park in Sector 23, Chandigarh. The school authorities said the objective of the visit was to make the students aware of traffic rules. Chief Marshal Gurnam Singh welcomed the students and shared his experiences regarding traffic negligence and road accidents. Head Constable Vinod Kumar's workshop on road signs was informative. He made students aware of three types of road signs — mandatory, cautionary and informatory. Family day celebrated
Stressing upon the value and importance of family, AKSIPS-41 Smart School celebrated the 'Family Day' with full enthusiasm on its campus. The parents were also invited on this occasion. Students put up a wonderful show for their parents. They expressed their love towards their families through an exhilarating cultural performance.
— TNS
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Semester system: Varsity not in a hurry
Chandigarh, May 24 Interestingly, in the month of March, Syndicate members had objected to and did not allow the issue to be discussed as it was sent in the supplementary part and they could not go through it. In April, the Syndicate had approved the final draft for implementation of the semester system in colleges for the first-year students of BA, BCom and BSC. While talking to mediapersons today, Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover said the agenda would be tabled tomorrow and the Senate would take the call on whether or not to approve it. One of the senators said it was strange that the authorities wanted the Senate to approve this policy issue without going through it properly. It was better that the VC should convene a special meeting this month so that all members could propose suggestions on the semester system. Sources said the university had assured the Ministry of Human Resources Development to implement the semester system of examinations in its undergraduate courses from the next session. But till date, it has not been implemented for want of approval. Sources said the university would not be able to implement the semester system in the next session if the issue was not approved by the Syndicate and the Senate this month.
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Dance ballet portrays Lord Krishna’s life
Chandigarh, May 24 Around 53 dancers, including children, depicted the life of Lord Krishna right from His birth to the Mahabharata episode where He was Arjuna’s charioteer. The dancers evoked the ambience of yore. A breezy start and rhythmic clarity with an earthy approach gave a subtle interpretation of the dance and struck a chord with the audience. There was some great viewing for the enthusiasts from the city as well as from Ambala, who had assembled in the auditorium, as they were treated with the Jaipur Kathak form of dance. The act kept the audience, both from the city and Ambala, hooked to their seats. The event was organised by Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh. The one-hour act was choreographed and directed by Shabnam Nath. The music by Nidhi Narang of Agra Gharana strengthened the act’s impact. Nath said, “For years, people from Chandigarh had been asking me to get the group here for a performance. And finally, we gave our maiden performance here.” Elaborating the dance form, he said, “A classical dance is not just for entertainment but it contains the philosophy of life. The reason I picked the act of Lord Krishna’s life to depict through the dance form was to generate more interest of young dancers into the mythology and increase their awareness.”
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Varsity should raise scholarship amount: MP
Chandigarh, May
24 The MP said a lot was needed to improve the functioning of the university and she would soon chalk out a specific plan for the purpose. On the occasion, many promising students were felicitated with endowment stipend out of PU Alumni House and Scholarship Fund Fee. A former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and the president of The Tribune Trust, Justice SS Sodhi
(retd), along with the MP and PU alumna Kirron Kher and Vice-Chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover honoured 77 university toppers and other promising students of various courses during the academic session 2012-2013. Varsity planning to raise scholarship fund: VC
Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Arun Kumar Grover said the university was planning to work out a model to invite corporate to increase the scholarship funds. He said under the plan, a corporate house would be asked to donate the matching amount donated by an individual for a specific scholarship. The scholarship’s name would contain the names of both the donors, he added.
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Justice Sodhi proposes IIC-like centre at PU
Chandigarh, May 24 Responding to the PU Vice-Chancellor’s suggestion, Justice Sodhi also offered to associate The Tribune Trust with the
centre. Justice Sodhi, who is also the president of The Tribune Trust, said there was indeed a great need for such a centre in the city, as it would serve as a think-tank to address the problems India was facing. He said politicians and bureaucrats need suggestions and inputs to find solution to the national problems. Justice Sodhi said there could not be a better place or organisation than the PU in association with The Tribune Trust, which could contribute towards addressing national issues. “We should do what we can to bring about this union for creation of something, which can be beneficial for our country,” he added.
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On Saturday’s development, when contacted, BJP national general secretary and Chandigarh unit in charge Aarti Mehra denied any rift in the party and said may be former MP and senior BJP leader Satya Pal Jain was in Delhi, therefore, he did not attend the meeting. But the ground reality was that Jain was in the city and he even attended a programme at Panjab University with Kirron Kher later in the day.
At Dhawan’s residence, senior UT officials, including Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) Chairman Satya Gopal, Additional Secretary (Home)-cum-Secretary Information Technology (IT) Prerna Puri, UT Police IG RP Upadhyay and UT Chief Conservator of Forests, Santosh Kumar, met MP Kirron Kher and BJP leader Harmohan Dhawan. Though the officials maintained that there was nothing special about the meeting, yet the presence of three out of four officials, who have either completed their tenure with the UT Administration or have been granted extension by the MHA after the completion of their tenure, makes the meeting ‘special’.
