Chandigarh, June 20
Amid growing speculation of a change of guard in Haryana, state Congress leaders will appear before a group, headed by AK Antony, on July 4 to look into the reasons for the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha election.

Sources said while the central leadership was contemplating a change in the leadership, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda may not be replaced.

Though the party managed to win only one of the 10 parliamentary seats in Haryana, Hooda may be allowed to continue with only three months to go for the Assembly elections.

Insiders maintain that the party is dealing with immense pressure from the dissident camp headed by Rajya Sabha MPs Birender Singh and Selja. Of them, the former is more vocal and has repeatedly said the party cannot expect to do well in the Assembly elections unless there is a complete overhaul. Added to this is the “threat” that he may quit the Congress and join the BJP if no action is initiated, something Birender Singh has been denying all along.

As the party leadership mulls over Hooda’s fate, sources said the party might not have too many options given the BJP’s growing strength in Haryana.

Leaders maintain the biggest disadvantage of replacing Hooda will be on the seats the Congress is hoping to retain in Rohtak, Jhajjar and Sonepat. “Given the BJP’s increasing clout, the party will try to establish itself in the state in these Assembly polls after winning seven of the eight seats it contested in the parliamentary elections. The BJP has the advantage of having its government at the Centre. For the Congress, battling anti-incumbency plus the pressure of having no foothold at the Centre is a double disadvantage. Besides, the growing indiscipline that is being witnessed in party programmes is also sending out the wrong signals. At such a time, with our plate full, replacing Hooda may not be a good option,” they said.

Sources further said though there were a number of aspirants looking at replacing Hooda, the very short duration at the disposal of the new incumbent before the state goes to the polls, was a disadvantage.

However, the dissident camp feels that replacing Hooda is the only “mantra” in the coming polls where a new face will not only be able to dull the edge of anti-incumbency the party is facing under Hooda rule, but also hold out an all-new promise.

“If the party really wants to be in the contest, Hooda must go and this has been effectively conveyed to the top leadership. The change has to happen if we are to be in the reckoning. This talk to replace Hooda is also a positive sign, which means that the central leadership is seeing the real picture. The high command is apprised of the ground situation in the state and will act to save the party,” a senior leader claimed.

Narnaul, June 20
Congress workers’ meetings are turning out to be unmanageable affairs in view of factionalism in the party.

The latest in the series of meetings going sour was here today when two groups of party workers flung chairs at each other and raised slogans against local legislator Rao Narender Singh. And all this happened in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state Congress president Ashok Tanwar.

A precursor to the commotion was a local leader and supporter of Public Health Minister Kiran Choudhry entering into an argument with Hooda and Rao Narender over local issues. He wanted to express grievances from the dais, but Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) and Mahendragarh MLA Rao Daan Singh snatched the mike from him and did not let him speak.

The commotion started when Prof Virender, who was conducting the stage, invited Health Minister Rao Narender to address the gathering. Some youths standing near the dais began raising slogans against him.

At this, someone from the gathering threw a chair at the protesting youths. In retaliation, they flung the chair back. Thus ensued a clash between the two groups. The police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

When order was restored, Rao Narender said he knew who had sent these anti-social elements to create ruckus at the meeting. “I know how to deal with such persons, but will not do so now,” he said from the dais.

Later, at the press meet at the Mini-Secretariat here, Hooda categorically denied that party workers created ruckus in his presence. “Such an incident (throwing chairs at each other) might have happened before I arrived. Nothing of the sort happened in my presence,” he said.

Rao Narender told the media that anti-social elements unsuccessfully tried to disturb the meeting.

Tanwar said acrimonious behaviour would not be tolerated and disciplinary action would be taken against workers on the basis of observers’ report.

‘South Haryana growing’
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda has said his dream is to bring water from the Beas river to south Haryana and, for this, the construction of the Hansi-Butana Canal has been completed. “Since the matter is pending in court, the government is waiting to take further action in this regard,” he told party workers during a meeting in Narnaul on Friday. Hooda said the government ensured the development of south Haryana. — TNS

New Delhi, June 20
The Delhi High Court today directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond within two days to Haryana ex-Chief Minister OP Chautala’s plea for extension of his bail by four weeks in view of his ill health.

The High Court had, on June 3, granted him bail for three weeks to enable him to attend the funeral of his younger brother, Pratap Singh, and for other rituals.

The Bench of Justice S Mridul posted Chautala’s plea for further hearing on June 23, even as the CBI opposed any bail extension to the 79-year-old Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader. Chautala’s counsel RK Anand said his client was undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Gurgaon, but the CBI pleaded for the court’s directive to get him examined at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

The INLD leader is serving a 10-year jail term for his role in the teachers’ recruitment scam in 1999-2000 when he was the CM. In all, a CBI court here has convicted and sentenced 55 accused in the case for committing irregularities through cheating and forgery in the appointment of 3,032 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers.

The trial court also sentenced Chautala’s son, Ajay, to 10-year imprisonment on January 22, 2013 following which both of them were lodged in Tihar Jail, Delhi.

Hearing on Monday OP Chautala’s counsel said his client was under treatment in hospital and pleaded for extension of his bail by four weeks The CBI pleaded for the court’s directive to get the INLD leader examined at AIIMS, Delhi The Bench posted Chautala’s plea for hearing on June 23; CBI opposed any bail extension to him

Jind, June 20
Ruling out change in leadership even if party supremo Om Parkash Chautala remained in jail during the Assembly elections, Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala said his grandfather would continue to be the party’s chief minister candidate.

“The INLD will fight the Assembly elections under the leadership of Om Prakash Chautala. We hope we will get justice and he will soon be out of jail. Even if he does not, he will supervise campaigning and take oath of CM in jail,” Dushyant told workers in Aleva. He alleged his family was victims of a Congress conspiracy.

Karnal, June 20
Amid speculation over the future of the HJC-BJP alliance, Ashwini Chopra, Karnal MP, today said the alliance may not last long in the state.

While hearing the grievances of people in his first ‘khulla-darbar’ held at PWD rest house here today, he said: “The HJC leaders are not following the dharma of coalition and they had opened a front against the state BJP’s leadership.”

He said the BJP leadership was deliberating over the alliance, but the HJC openly claimed that they would contest the Assembly election alone, which is also a part of breach of alliance conditions.

Commenting on Chander Mohan’s remarks, the MP said: “Please do not compare me with former Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan. If he wants to race with me, he can. Personal attacks are always harmful. If I start launching personal attacks on him, it could be harmful for him.” — TNS

Ambala, June 20
The state unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is gearing up to challenge Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on the issue of a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) being demanded by Sikhs of the state.

District unit chief of the party Ajit Singh said a decision in this regard was taken during a meeting of the party which was held at Manji Sahib Gurdwara here today.

He said the meeting was also attended by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar, during which the party assured him that appropriate measures would be taken to make certain that no separate SGPC was constituted in Haryana.

He said the issue of a separate body to manage to affairs of the gurdwaras in Haryana was being raked up to gain political mileage in view of the upcoming Assembly elections. He said such moves were aimed at dividing the Sikhs.

No Congress government had ever fulfilled any demand put by the community, he said.

Ajit Singh also targeted Jagdish Singh Jhinda and Didar Singh Nalvi, who are spearheading the movement to get a separate body, stating that they had vested interests in the matter.

He said the Shiromani Akali Dal would urge the state Sikhs to boycott the July 6 meeting of the HSGPC in Kaithal.

Jind, June 20
Two persons were killed, while 15 others injured when a truck hit a stationary canter near Belrakha village today.

Faridabad, June 20
Retired government officials are determined to regain control of 135 acres in the district allegedly encroached on by the land mafia.

With their sit-in entering the 74th day today outside the Mini-Secretariat here, the protesters have threatened to corner Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda during his visit to the city on Sunday.

Members of the Green Estate and HRE Plot Holder Society (GEHPS), one of the oldest housing societies in the district, today submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner demanding that land be reclaimed from the land mafia.

The issues dates back to 1968 when then government employees had bought land in Agwanpur and Ismailpur villages (near Delhi) in the district to develop a housing society. They formed the GEHPS for the purpose. The Centre, however, did not permit the GEHPS to develop the housing society. Since then, land has been encroached upon.

All these years, members of the GEHPS have been fighting to clear the land of encroachment and have petitioned all and sundry, but to no avail. “Villagers have supported us in our fight, but the authorities have failed to stop the illegal construction in spite of stay by a local court,” Shyam Sunder, a member of the GEHPS, said.

“Members of the GEHPS have been sitting on the dharna since March 29 and it is the longest protest of this kind in the history of the city,” claims Sanjay Punj, secretary of the society.

He said the mafia had assaulted GEHPS members and those supporting their fight. “Jasbir Singh, president of the society and former undersecretary in the Centre, was assaulted by henchmen of a land grabber in 1996, when he came for inspection of land,” Punj added.

The background Some government employees had in 1968 bought land in Agwanpur and Ismailpur villages (near Delhi) in Faridabad district to develop a housing society They formed the Green Estate and HRE Plot Holder Society (GEHPS) The Centre, however, did not permit the GEHPS to develop the housing society; Since then, land has been encroached upon All these years, members of the GEHPS have been fighting to clear the land of encroachment and petitioned all and sundry, but to no avail

Hisar, June 20
The Haryana Food and Supplies Department has set up a four-member committee to investigate the disappearance of wheat bags worth ~3.5 crore from warehouses in Hansi town of the district.

TVSN Prasad, Principal Secretary (Food and Supplies), had formed the committee on June 18 and it was headed by department superintendent Mahesh Yadav from the state headquarters, sources said. The other members are Vinod Saini from Ambala, Dinesh Tulli from Kurukshetra and Ishwar Singh from Jind.

The Principal Secretary has directed the committee to take charge of the entire stock and other articles in the warehouses in Hansi and submit a status report to the head office within a week. Sources said the team would reach the town soon.

Wheat bags weighing 18 metric tonnes were found missing from three warehouses when a senior department official was on an inspection visit following reports of decay of the produce.

The official submitted a report to the head office, after which four officials — Hisar District and Food Supplies Controller Ghanshyam Das, and inspectors Mahender Singh, Vipin Kumar and Jaswant Singh — were suspended. A case was registered against the inspectors.

The police investigation is underway, while the department inquiry has been launched. Sources said the four-member committee would assess the loss to the state exchequer and the amount could be recovered from erring officials.

Karnal, June 20
Karnal District Magistrate Balraj Singh today ordered maintaining records of the sale of acid in compliance with Supreme Court orders.

“As per the instructions of the court, it is mandatory for any shopkeeper selling acid to maintain a logbook or a register with details of the buyer and the quantity of acid purchased,” the order said.

The Supreme Court had prohibited the sale of acid unless the seller maintains a record of the buyers. “Over-the-counter sale of acid is completely prohibited unless the seller maintains a log/register recording ... the details of the person(s) to whom acid (s) is/are sold, the quantity sold and shall contain the address of the person to whom it is sold,” the court had said.

The court said violation of its directions “shall attract prosecution under the Poisons Act, 1919” and “the SDM shall be vested with the responsibility of fining the violators and initiating prosecution”.— TNS

Hisar, June 20
The district police today arrested two persons and recovered 16 motorcycles from their possession near Langri village on the Barwala road in the district.

The arrested youths, identified as Sandeep of Balsamand village and Sunil of Kirtana village of the district, had stolen the motorcycles using a master key. They had kept the bikes in an abandoned room in the fields of Langri village.

During interception on the Langri Barwala road, the police stopped the duo and asked them for documents. The police detected that they had placed a fake vehicle registration number plate on their bike.

Harish Bhardwaj, police spokesperson, said during interrogation, they revealed that they had stolen 16 motorcycles from Hisar, Fatehabad, Adampur, Sirsa and Bhattu towns.

“Sandeep is an ITI passout and has been socially banished from his village following his involvement in a molestation case. He teamed up with high school dropout Sunil about four months ago to form a bike-stealing gang. They even used to rent out the motorcycles,” said Bhardwaj. A case has been registered against them.

Modus operandi Sandeep and Sunil had stolen the motorcycles using a master key. They had kept the bikes in an abandoned room in the fields of Langri village The duo were intercepted on the Langri Barwala road They had stolen motorcycles from Hisar, Fatehabad, Adampur, Sirsa and Bhattu towns

Sirsa/Fatehabad, June 20
Aam Aadmi Party’s national political affairs committee member and in charge of the party affairs in Haryana Yogendra Yadav said the party would emerge as a strong alternative in the state in the upcoming Assembly polls.

Yadav addressed conventions of party workers in Sirsa and Fatehabad today.

He said the party was trying to ascertain the views of AAP activists at grassroots level. “When we contested the Lok Sabha election, we had a weak organisational structure, particularly at the booth level. However, now we are concentrating on strengthening the party at the booth level,” said Yadav.

He said hardworking and dedicated workers were being given the task of managing the party affairs at the booth level.

Yadav said the district-level conventions were also serving the purpose of reviewing the results of Lok Sabha election. He said the party would stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar from 6 pm on June 24 to seek justice for the rape victims of Bhagana in Hisar. The party would soon launch a countrywide agitation against builder mafia, corruption in land acquisition and atrocities on Dalits.

Yadav denied having differences with Naveen Jaihind, party candidate from the Rohtak parliamentary seat.

Kurukshetra, June 20
At least three people were injured in a clash between two groups of liquor vendors near Jangra Dharamshala here today.

Two of the injured — Naveen and Gopi — received bullet injuries and their friend, Jaswinder Singh, was hit with a stick in the head. They were taken to hospital and were said to be out of danger. The accused have been booked, but none of them has been arrested.

Sources said the accused, Azad Singh and Ramphal, had set up an illegal liquor vend in a juice shop near the dharamshala. They used to deliver liquor to households, sources said. Selling liquor is prohibited in the city.

Jaswinder, who has an authorised liquor vend outside the city, along with Naveen, Gopi and other friends, reached the juice shop to warn the accused to stop their illegal activity. Both groups indulged into a verbal spat. The accused opened fire at Jaswinder and his friends. DSP Satish Gautam said: “The mobile phones of the accused have been put on surveillance.” — TNS