Kalayat, October 4
Union Home Minister and former BJP president Rajnath Singh Saturday hit out at Pakistan for repeated ceasefire violations and warned it to mend its pro-violence attitude as India has started changing with the change of government.

“Pakistan must understand that a weak government like the UPA does not run the government. Now it is a strong BJP government led by Narendra Modi which runs the country. We do not want enmity with any country, but will not tolerate any ceasefire violation by Pakistan,” said Rajnath during a BJP rally here.

He said Pakistan should not take India’s peaceful approach as weakness as Indian forces were fully capable of taking on all its enemies. He announced that he had directed the Army not to show “white flags” to the Pakistani army anymore and
immediately hit back whenever there was any firing from Pakistan.

“All our enemies must understand the power of India as the most powerful country, the US, has started acknowledging us as a rising power. We have tolerated a lot and will not tolerate more. If our neighbours face any problem, they will themselves be responsible for it,” he said.

Referring to the recent visit of the Prime Minister to the US, the Home Minister said the US had denied Modi a visa for 10 years, but invited him now as it had understood that Modi would become a world leader.

Rajnath spoke for 28 minutes, focusing on achievements of the government. Referring to Haryana politics, he sought votes for the BJP and accused other parties of not keeping their promises to the electorate.

“All parties have broken their promises and lost your trust. Only the BJP is left. We brought unprecedented development in all like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh after our governments were elected,” he said.

Karnal, October 4
Haryana saw a new phase in politics as political tempers shot up Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi addressing election rallies to boost poll prospects of their respective parties for the Assembly elections scheduled for October 15.

It is for the first time after the parliamentary elections that the two leaders tried to hard sell their respective party agendas to the people of Haryana.

In response to Modi’s appeal of “do try those who have been unsuccessfully tested before”, Sonia’s rebuttal was “It is time to use your head over your heart to protect yourself from emotional exploitation”. This indicates intense campaigning ahead.

Modi addressed his first political rally in Karnal after taking oath as Prime Minister. During his 30-minute emotional address using his interactive style to involve the audience, he divided his time to attack BJP’s main political rivals, the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

“Where will you prefer to go to get your work done after the elections, Tihar Jail (where INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala will be after his bail expires on October 19) or Chandigarh?” he questioned, knowing the obvious answer.

As the campaigning period is short, no party has much choice with dates to hold rallies. To the discomfort of the Congress, Modi and Sonia rallies on the same day has brought out “Modi versus Sonia” contest, something the Congress would have liked to avoid.

The Congress had so far kept the BJP on the back foot by demanding that the BJP should name its chief ministerial candidate as most BJP candidates paled compared to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Modi attacked the Congress by saying, “Those who misruled for 60 years are demanding the account of 60 days in office”. In reply to Modi’s claims, Sonia accused the BJP of trying to show UPA schemes as its own and saying, “Empty vessels make the most noise”.

Modi Saturday questioned Hooda’s development model and projected the nine-year Congress rule as a failure. In Meham, Hooda described utterances by the Prime Minister as misleading and factually incorrect. The two parties would not have to spend a lot of effort in convincing voters about their points of view.

At the same time, the charge by Modi that Haryana farmers were unable to sell their paddy due to imposition of a 4 per cent cess in mandis, if proved wrong, would take a large chunk of farmers away from the BJP.

Both the Congress and the BJP are now engaged in hitting out at each other. At the same time, both sides have, during their speeches, taken on the INLD, indicating that the INLD was a strong contender. Modi’s address indicates that he somewhere feels that his party may not get a majority.

He told voters in Karnal in no uncertain terms that in order to take advantage of BJP rule at the Centre, they must give the BJP a clear mandate in Haryana. “Can you reap the benefits of my government if you have to bear the brunt of bumps and opposition from the state government?” he asked.

An astute politician, Modi’s sense of uncertainty could have stemmed from the fact that people present in the Karnal rally were euphoric and ecstatic when it came to issues concerning him.

The response was not that enthusiastic whenever Modi made an emotional appeal to form a BJP government to ensure that Haryana was free from “extortion and loot seen during INLD rule” or “land scandals” during the Congress regime.

There was a perceptible difference in the reaction from the crowd when Modi wanted an endorsement for himself compared to when he asked for a “bahumat” (majority) for his party.

Chandigarh, October 4
Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath Saturday said for the first time in Haryana, police observers would be deployed in five districts to ensure free, fair and clean polling.

Police observers would be deployed in Kaithal, Jhajjar, Hisar, Jind and Mewat. The EC would try to get maximum possible forces from the Centre for the Vidhan Sabha elections on October 15, but the manner in which the force available was used was more important, he said.

Sampath was addressing a press conference after holding meetings with representatives of political parties, the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Director General of Police, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and other senior officers of the state government.

He expressed satisfaction with preparedness made by the election machinery and said the EC was expecting more participation of electors in the Vidhan Sabha elections.

The EC had taken a major voter facilitation initiative, according to which polling would start at 7 am and continue till 6 pm, he said.

“A single-window system will be made functional to issue permission to political parties for rallies. The permission will be given within 24 hours. We want 100 per cent voter slips to be distributed ahead of the day of polling. This scan be used as identity proof for voting,” he said.

Sampath said it had been decided to promote and monitor turnout of postal ballot among staff and security personnel. Directions had been issued for a vigorous campaign to ensure higher voter turnout, which might be more than 80 per cent.

“The SVEEP programme will be strengthened and basic minimum facilities improved at polling stations to facilitate voters,” he added.

He said the EC had got useful inputs at the meeting with representatives of political parties.

Problems related to campaign facility, voter slip distribution, misuse of liquor and money power were discussed.

“In our meeting with officers, we emphasised that absolute neutrality is essential for ensuring free and fair polling,” he added.

Kalka, October 4
In her first ele ction rally in Haryana ahead of elections, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Saturday assured clean, transparent and good governance in the state.

She was addressing a public rally seeking votes for Latika Sharma, candidate from Kalka. Swaraj said it was a crucial election for the BJP as it was contesting it on its own in Haryana for the first time.

The BJP was targeting 50 plus seats in the state elections to form the government independently, she said. Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving a major share to Haryana in his Cabinet, she said such a share was never before given to the state.

“Modi had given due representation to Haryana by appointing ministers in his Cabinet. Now it is the turn of the people to repay him by voting the BJP to power,” she said, adding that the Prime Minister was well versed with people of Haryana.

Seeking votes on the plank of development, she assured the people that the BJP, if voted to power, would give clean and good governance and work for welfare of the poor.

She introduced Latika and Gian Chand Gupta, BJP candidate from Panchkula, to the public. “In the last 20 year, it was rule of ‘lawlessness and loot’ in Haryana. No section of society will be overlooked if the BJP forms the government,” she said.

She listed priorities of the party like hike in old-age pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000, free pilgrimage for the elderly by train, unemployment allowance of Rs 6,000 for class XII passout and Rs 9,000 for graduates and postgraduates.

The strength of women in the police would be doubled, free bus travel provided to girl students to pursue education and free 50 square yard plots given to homeless widows, she promised.

Swaraj announced sports stadiums for each block, more coaches for sportspersons and two universities of international standard like Oxford and Cambridge.

She promised two healthcare institutes on the lines of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and a stringent law to enforce ban on cow slaughter.

Sirsa, October 4
State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sanitation drive and at the same time tried to woo Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, when he said Modi was aping what the Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had been doing since long.

Speaking at Sonia Gandhi’s rally in Sirsa today, Tanwar not only tried to belittle Modi’s efforts, but also tried to cajole the Dera chief at a time when the political affairs wing of the Dera was in the process of gathering inputs from its followers.

During the last decade, Dera Sacha Sauda has been largely supporting the Congress in Haryana. With the Congress fighting anti-incumbency this election, Dera Sacha Sauda has been keeping its cards close to its chest and has been gathering inputs from all parts of the state.

Tanwar enjoys the blessings of the Dera chief, as the Dera had supported him in both the elections he contested from Sirsa in 2009 and 2014.

This time, his chosen candidates Naveen Kedia, Ramesh Bhadu and Shishpal Keharwala, are contesting from Sirsa, Ellenabad and Kalanwali Assembly constituencies, respectively.

The Dera has been running a sanitation drive throughout the country under which Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh selects any town at a given time and himself cleans roads along with his followers to remove squalor from there within a day.

The Dera has so far cleaned several towns and cities of the country through such drives.

Kurukshetra, October 4
Madhya Pradesh minister and BJP in-charge of Haryana elections, Kailash Vijayvargiya, termed state Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as an infamous leader in Haryana and said, “The Kaithal incident reflects where the Chief Minister’s fame stands.”

Hooda was booed at a Kaithal rally in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vijayvargiay was here in Kuruksehetra to inspect the venue being prepared for Modi’s rally in Kurukshetra on October 6. On this occasion, he said, “Lakhs of people will reach the venue to listen to their favourite leader. Even other countries are impressed with Modi’s leadership. People in Haryana are fed-up with the Hooda government, and they want the BJP to form the next government as was evident from today’s Karnal rally, which was historical.”

Criticising CM Hooda for blaming the Centre for the decline in paddy prices, Vijayvargiya said, “Hooda’s allegations are baseless. He must prove what he says with documentary proofs. The reason behind the fall in prices is that the Haryana government imposed 4% market tax on paddy while there is no such tax in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and several other states. As a result the rice millers are procuring paddy from other states and also setting up rice mills in there due to high taxes in Haryana.”

Faridabad, October 4
Union Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Krishan Pal Gurjar today said Faridabad would “no longer be a poor cousin of any other district of the state” as the process of putting “development works on fast track” had been started with the launch of various projects.

The Faridabad MP was addressing a public meeting in support of BJP candidate from Tigaon Rajesh Nagar, at Tigaon.

“I will ensure that it comes on the international map like some other cities of the state which have earned a reputation by being the home districts of various leaders,’’ he claimed.

Gurjar who represented Tigaon Assembly seat, prior to his election as MP this year, claimed that several projects had either been launched or were on the cards to “reshape” the city.

The Faridabad MP said while the foundation of a 200-crore over-bridge over the Yamuna river to link the city with Noida had already been laid, six national highways to be built at a cost of Rs 4,500 crore would pass through the district in the coming year.

He said he would ensure that Faridabad figures on the international map again with projects such as a national-level biotechnology hub, a horticulture university and a training-cum-recruitment centre for paramilitary forces. 

Uchana Kalan, October 4
Regardless of the criticism he has been drawing for campaigning while on bail after being convicted in the JBT recruitment scam, INLD chief Om Parkash Chautala today asked party workers not to panic after receiving threats from opposition leaders.

“Many opposition leaders are threatening to shoot our workers dead if they do not leave INLD. I want to tell or workers that they should not panic as all these rumours are being spread by our opponents, who are against my becoming the next Chief Minister,” announced Chautala in Doomrakhan Kalan village, which is also BJP leader Chaudhary Birender Singh’s native village.

Birender’s wife, Prem Lata Singh, is contesting against Chautala’s grandson, Dushyant Chautala, from the Uchana Kalan seat.

Chautala was scheduled to visit the remaining 31 villages today. “Dushyant will win with the biggest lead across the state. After seeing the voter’s enthusiasm I want them to maintain it till October 15 and vote for INLD,” Chautala said.

Meanwhile, Birender Singh during a rally in Kalayat, alleged Chautala had been begging for votes from Uchana Kalan voters as he had understood that Dushyant was going to lose the forthcoming Assembly elections.

“OP Chautala is begging for votes for his grandson. I am not contesting from Uchana, as my wife is enough to defeat Dushyant,” claimed Birender.

Jhajjar, October 4
BJP Kisan Morcha chief and its nominee for Badli constituency Om Prakash Dhankar, while addressing a gathering at Kheri Jatt village today, said the services of guest teachers and other contractual and ad hoc employees would be regularised if the BJP formed government in the state. Notably, thousands of such teachers and other employees are working in various government establishments.

“We will also ensure an honorarium of Rs 9,000 per month to poor students who want to earn money while studying. Such students will be provided work for four hours in a day,” said Dhankar.

He called upon people to “root out the Congress” out from power to “protect” the state from devastation as the Hooda government had promoted corruption and criminal activities in the state.

Hisar, October 4
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hisar scheduled on Monday, BJP leader and former MLA PK Chaudhary extended his support to the INLD at a public meeting in Hansi Assembly segment.

Chaudhary went to INLD nominee Umed Singh Lohan today and expressed solidarity with him. Chaudhary, who became MLA on BJP ticket in 1987 from Hansi, was one of the aspirants for the ticket this time. He revolted against the party after the BJP fielded Congress turncoat Chhatarpal Singh.

INLD spokesperson Mandeep Bishnoi said the former MLA had extended support to the party. “Chaudhary has been a sympathiser and he also supported us during the Lok Sabha elections,” he said, adding that he had not joined the INLD. 

Sirsa, October 4
Ellenabad MLA Abhay Singh Chautala today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s rallies in the state today had proved to be “flop shows”. He said people were not “impressed” with their speeches.

Chautala alleged that empty chairs greeted Sonia Gandhi when she visited Sirsa today to address an election rally. He said the turnout was only “a little more than the number of security personnel” deployed on this occasion. — TNS

Jhajjar, October 4
State Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal, while talking about development works carried out during the Congress regime in Jhajjar during the last decade, asked people to vote for the party in the upcoming elections so as to keep the “momentum of development going”.

She was addressing a poll meeting in Jhajjar today. Bhukkal, who is in the fray from the Jhajjar Assembly segment, said it was a contest between “dharma and adharma” and so, people had to decide which party’s government would protect the democratic values in politics.

“Besides setting up three government colleges, four hospitals, three ITIs, a Teacher Training School and a Kisan Model School, as many as 10 water works, 15 sports stadiums, four bridges and 25 roads have been constructed in Jhajjar,” she said.

She alleged the Modi government had failed to live up to the expectations of people as not even one promise had been fulfilled.