Narnaul, June 21
Under pressure ever since the debacle of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is trying to please alienated party workers who are feeling ‘ignored’ by not getting as much incumbency advantage as they were expecting.

To please the disgruntled workers, Hooda has now announced to ensure ‘rightful share of power’ to the Congress workers if the party retains the government for the third consecutive time in the coming Assembly elections.

While addressing a party workers’ meeting here yesterday, Hooda said, “We have set the target to enrol 2 lakh workers in the state and these will be the ones whose share of power will be ensured if the Congress comes to power again in the state. Furthermore, I hand over the rein of bureaucrats to these members, so that they do not have face any difficulty to get their work done,” he maintained.

“Dedicated party workers are sore about being ‘ignored’ by the party leadership and even the bureaucracy is not giving any weightage to them despite the party being in power for nine years. The disgruntled Congress workers have expressed their sentiments before the party leadership several times, but to no avail. Hooda remembers the party workers when the Assembly elections are round the corner. He had made such hollow promises in the 2009 elections also but then turned a blind eye to the welfare of the workers when he came to power,” said a discontented Congress worker.

He maintained that the party leadership did not bother to give due respect and recognition to the workers during the last two stints. They had to grease the palms of bureaucrats to get their works done, he added.

New Delhi, June 21
On separate Sikh committee in Haryana, state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said, “The desire of Haryana Sikhs for a separate body to manage gurdwaras in the state cannot be wished away.”

He said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was trying to fulfill the poll promise made to the community in the last Assembly elections.

He said Sikhs of the state would hold a meeting in the first week of July to brainstorm and take a decision on the issue.Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh a few days ago and flayed the Haryana government’s move on the issue.

In response to a query, Tanwar said he would not contest the forthcoming Assembly elections slated to be held in October.

Accompanied by Rohtak MP Deepender Singh, Tanwar denied of factionalism in the state Congress.

He said the party had already initiated measures to rejuvenate it post-Lok Sabha elections. From July 4 to 30, the party would organise meetings with all sections of society, he said and added that public meetings in all Assembly segments would be organised.

Criticising the Narendra Modi government for the rail fare hike, he said he had written to the Railway Minister asking for immediate rollback. 

Chandigarh, June 21
Information of the number of Haryanavis working in Iraq continued to go up with the Haryana control room set up by government. Latest reports said the total number of stranded residents from the state had gone up to 143 even as information continues to trickle in.

A majority of those stranded in Iraq hail from Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Ambala and Kaithal districts. While 43 are from Yamunanagar district, 36 from Kurukshetra, 24 from Karnal, 29 are from Ambala, six from Kaithal. Sirsa, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Mahendergarh districts have also reported a few names.

Meanwhile, addressing press conferences in Sonepat and Jhajjar, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the state had set up a round-the-clock helpline where stranded people and their family members or relatives could contact to get information. Apart from this, he said he has also written to Union Ministry for External Affairs, to take urgent steps to rescue the Indians, including Haryanavis, who have been either stranded or kidnapped in Iraq, and offered all kind of assistance required in getting them evacuated.

Chandigarh, June 21
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has urged Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to take urgent steps to rescue the Indians, including Haryanavis, who are stranded or held hostage in Iraq.

In a letter to the Union Minister today, Hooda said, “The situation that has emerged in Iraq over the last few days is disturbing for the entire country. Unfortunately, a large number of people hailing from Haryana have also suffered a similar fate.”

Appreciating the efforts put in by the Ministry of External Affairs to reach out to the stranded Indians in Iraq, Hooda said, “The Haryana government has set up a round-the-clock control room to gather information about the stranded Haryanvis in Iraq. So far, we have received information about 114 persons from Haryana who are facing the trauma of being stranded in a foreign land.”

The Chief Minister assured the Union Minister saying, “The government of Haryana is committed to lending a helping hand to the Government of India in facilitating a safe and early evacuation of the stranded Indians. We are willing to take all necessary steps and to ensure early evacuation of the people in Iraq,” said Hooda.

Sirsa, June 21
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has expressed shock over the steep hike in passenger fares and freight charges, announced by the Railways Ministry on Friday. Rajeev Godara, chief spokesperson for the AAP in Haryana, said it was the second hike in eight months and the steepest in the recent past.

“The Railways, which ferry 25 million people every day, is the lifeline of the country and the principal mode of conveyance for the aam aadmi. The common man of the country feels cheated as the BJP had promised to bring down inflation. While burdening the common man with the hike, the NDA government did not take into account the fact that the average passenger is poor,” Godara said.

The leader said what worried the party more was the fact that the 6.5 per cent hike in freight charges would further push the prices of essential commodities.

“It is baffling that the government did not even wait for the rail budget,” Godara said.

Also, the DERC (Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission) had indicated that the electricity tariff was likely to go up from August. AAP was of the firm view that the average electricity consumer was being over charged by the discoms, he added.

The discom audit ordered by the AAP government would have exposed the irregularities by the discoms and the tariff would have automatically come down. The party will oppose any proposal of electricity tariff hike in Delhi, he said.

Sonepat, June 21
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today criticised the NDA government for the increase in railway fares and termed it as “back-door entry”. “It is not a good convention when the Budget session of the Parliament is likely to be held very soon,” he added.

He was talking to mediapersons after attending the convocation of the DCR University of Science and Technology, Murthal. He commented, “NDA sarkar ka khel- mehangi rail, mehanga tel.” In reply to a question about what steps the state government was taking to help the youths stranded in Iraq, the CM said the state was ready to provide every help, though, the matter was being tackled by the Foreign Ministry. He reiterated his claim that the Congress was going to win the Assembly elections. He claimed that during the parliamentary elections there was slogan among people, “Upar Narendra, neeche Bhupinder” (Narendra (Modi) in Parliament, Bhupinder (Hooda) in Assembly). In reply to a question about ‘Modi wave’ in the Assembly elections, Hooda remarked “It can work if Narendra Modi contests Assembly election from Haryana.” 

Sirsa, June 21
A rape victim has alleged that she was being pressurised by some policemen to withdraw her case. The victim alleged though the case had been handed over to a woman assistant sub-inspector, two policemen from the JJ Colony police post visited her in the hospital and pressurised her to withdraw her complaint.

The police had registered a case of rape against Ajay, a resident of Balmiki Chowk in Sirsa, on the complaint of the girl with whom he was in love for the past one year but got engaged to some other girl.

The complainant had yesterday attempted suicide by consuming some poisonous substance and also tried to cut her vein after she heard the news of the youth’s engagement. She was rushed to the General Hospital, Sirsa, where she her condition was stated to be out of danger.

“Two policemen came to me twice today and pressurised me to withdraw my complaint. They told me that Ajay will come out on bail in a month anyway,” she said.

Efforts to contact City police station SHO Mauji Ram did not succeed as the policeman who answered the calls said he was busy resolving an issue in a “panchayat”.

Kurukshetra, June 21
Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) chief Kuldeep Bishnoi has appealed to the electorate to choose wisely as the forthcoming Assembly elections will decide the fate of Haryana. He was addressing a ‘parivartan’ rally at Babain village in Ladwa on Saturday.

Addressing the gathering, he said, “The Assembly elections will decide the future of your family, children and the state. I ask you to choose those who are in your favour.”

Training his guns on the INLD and the Congress, Bishnoi refrained from commenting on the future of the BJP-HJC alliance, but gave a clear indication of going alone in the Assembly elections.

Addressing the gathering, he said, “You have three options. The first is the incumbent Hooda government, which has done nothing except discriminate over the last 10 years. There is no job guarantee, women’s safety or law and order. Will you again vote in favour of the Congress and suffer for five more years?”

He added, “The second option is Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD. The country wants honest leaders, but the party has projected Om Prakash Chautala as the chief ministerial candidate. This is unfortunate. He is already serving a jail term for corruption and you cannot expect clean governance from him.”

Bishnoi further said, “The third option is the HJC and so, choose wisely. You know the history of all three parties and I hope you will vote in favour of the HJC, given the good work done by former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.”

He called on party supporters to get ready for the Assembly elections, irrespective of the future of the HJC-BJP alliance.

He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “He is a strong, honest and daring man. I congratulate you for making such a good decision in the General Election. Modi will strengthen the Indian economy.”

Taking a dig at the Congress government in the state, Bishnoi said, “The state has been divided into southern, northern and eastern regions. I assure you that there will be no discrimination if the HJC forms the next government.”

He said, “Equal development, improvement in law and order, safety and empowerment of women will be our top priorities. I will not consider myself successful until I provide a job to at least one youth from every house across all 90 Assembly segments.”

Touching an emotional chord, he said, “I was betrayed in the past. My MLAs switched loyalty, threatened me and tried to bribe me, but I kept walking on the honest path. I hope you will stand by me and my party in the Assembly elections.”

Hisar, June 21
HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi seems to have pulled out all stops to strengthen the party ahead of Assembly elections in the state.

A few days after losing in the General Election, he had gone into a rally overdrive in districts along National Highway 1. He had declared ‘Mission 46+’, indicating that he was prepared to go it alone in case the BJP did away with the alliance.

Bishnoi had been using the social media to reach out to the youth. His Twitter handle and Facebook page indicated that he was in no mood to compromise with the BJP over the issue of being declared the chief ministerial candidate.

Slogans like ‘Ab ki baar, Kuldeep sarkar’ and ‘Mission 46+’ left nothing to guess for the BJP leadership, trying to coax Bishnoi into climbing down from earlier terms.

The HJC had decided to intensify the campaign in the next few days and hold rallies till the end of July. Party leaders maintained that Bishnoi, his wife Renuka and their son Bhavya had chalked out an intensive drive to activate supporters across the state.

Party spokesperson Kamal Singh alleged on Saturday that BJP leaders were bent on violating coalition dharma by issuing statements which had been hurting its coalition partner.

Sirsa, June 21
The heat wave today claimed the life of a labourer at Bahiya village in the district. The victim, Devi Lal (56), a resident of Matdadu village, had gone to Bahiya village to earn wages.

As he descended from a bus at Bahiya bus stand, he fell unconscious on the ground. Onlookers shifted him to a hospital and also informed the police. Doctors in the hospital pronounced him brought dead. The doctors said the victim appeared to have died of excessive heat. The police handed over the body to his kin after postmortem.

Kurukshetra, June 21
The BJP leadership is not interested in continuing the BJP-HJC alliance and has decided to submit a report to the high command.

The issue was discussed on the first day of the two-day meeting of the state BJP committee in Kurukshetra. Party sources confirmed that state leaders expressed resentment over the BJP-HJC alliance.

State BJP chief Ram Bilas Sharma refused to comment on the issue. A BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity, “BJP leaders are not happy with ongoing activities of the HJC and have objected to those. We are of the view that the BJP should go alone.”

He further said, “Leaders are not happy with the language being used by HJC leaders. Kuldeep Bishnoi is finding ways to end the alliance. Not a single leader advocated keeping the alliance intact. The report will be submitted to the high command and the parliamentary committee will take the final call.”

Earlier in the day, Sharma said, “Bishnoi and Chander Mohan are owners of their party, the HJC. I will not comment on them.”

Talking to mediapersons, Sharma said, “The BJP has started preparations for Vidhan Sabha elections. All issues and the strategy will be discussed during the two-day meeting.”

About the future of the alliance, he said, “Talks about the alliance will continue and it will be discussed. Since the BJP is a national party, the central committee will take the final call.”

He said, “More than 200 BJP MPs will attend the two-day training camp at Surajkund in Faridabad on June 28 and 29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be there.”

BJP national spokesperson Capt Abhimanyu criticised HJC leaders. He said, “In politics, language matters the most. Its importance increases when you are in an alliance.”

Gurgaon, June 21
A 14-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly abducted by two persons and then gang-raped in a cabin of the Heli Mandi railway station, near Pataudi, today.

The police have arrested 20-year-old Vikki of Jatauli village and 19-year-old Sanjay of Heli Mandi in the case.

The police said the victim and the accused were at a marriage function. After 8.30 pm, the father of the girl could not find her and he approached the police. She was found near the Heli Mandi railway station. The victim claimed that she was taken away by two known men where they gang-raped her. — TNS