Sirsa, October 11
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday urged people to bring the BJP to power with a majority to end the rule of dynasties and get rid of corruption, nepotism and hooliganism.

Addressing a rally in Sirsa, Modi promised more development in the next five years than had been done in the last 20 years.

“In the last few years, only a few families have gained. People got nothing. There is no solution except a stable government. Governments formed through bits and pieces cannot give good governance,” he said.

He said the BJP had shown the will to act as it kept its promise of one rank one pension immediately after coming to power in the Centre. “Haryana’s jawan and kisan are our pride,” he said.

He added that the BJP would work for their betterment. He emphsised the need for skill development. He said the state needed integrated development, besides rail and road connectivity.

In what appeared to be a deliberate move in Om Prakash Chautala’s home district, Modi did not launch any direct attack on the former Chief Minister.

Modi did not name Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in his speech, but referred to his tenure. Modi said the future of the youth had been ruined by the government in the last 10 years. Without naming anyone, Modi said only five families had ruled Haryana.

“These families come to power one after the other. They have an understanding to allow others amass as much wealth as possible through corrupt means so that they did not raise any question when it was their turn,” Modi said.

“Sirsa needs integrated development. We cannot let things remain like this. Rail and road connectivity are needed. I will create a new model of state development if the BJP comes to power,” Modi said.

Sirsa, October 11
Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda may throw its weight behind the BJP for the Assembly poll going by developments during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally today.

Modi started his speech with an account of his previous visits to Sirsa at the time of the Dabwali fire tragedy and to seek the blessings of Dera Sacha Sauda. Hundreds of dera followers seated in a particular section of the pandal responded with thunderous applause. Modi went on to speak about the efforts of the dera to clean cities and praised the organisation amid even louder claps.

Modi’s praise comes close on the heels of visits to the dera by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and party’s state campaign in charge Kailash Vijayvargiya earlier this week. Recently, dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had praised the PM’s sanitation drive and said that he was doing “amazing things” for the country.

Interestingly, when Modi spoke about the dera, he referred to Shah Mastana, the sect’s first head, and did not mention present chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is facing criminal trials before the CBI court.

However, Modi’s reference to the dera is considered a significant development, as senior leaders, including CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, have never referred to the dera in his speeches, ostensibly because of the controversies as well as the backlash it can attract from Sikhs. A source said the dera yesterday told followers to reach in Modi’s rally in large numbers.

The Dera has been impacting polling trends in the area since the mid-nineties after Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh took over. While its followers are spread across almost all segments, the religious sect is said to influence results in nearly 45 constituencies. It is due to these numbers that political leaders have been making a beeline at the dera ahead of the poll.

Those who follow the dera’s moves closely say the Assembly poll is more important for the sect than ever before. The Congress, which benefitted from its decisions in the past 10 years, seems in doldrums after the Lok Sabha result.

Dera Sacha Sauda spokesperson Pawan Insan, however, expressed ignorance of any directive to the dera followers. Regarding possibilities of backing the BJP, Insan said only the dera’s political wing could take a decision in the regard. “The managers of the political affairs wing are in the process of finalising their strategy for the poll,” he said.

Siwan (Kaithal), October 11
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal Saturday said the jailing of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala had triggered a wave in favour of the INLD-SAD alliance and it would surpass its Mission 60 Plus target and win 70 seats.

Addressing a mammoth gathering in favour of INLD candidate Buta Singh here, the SAD president said a massive sympathy wave had started in favour of the INLD after the court’s decision to cancel Chautala’s bail. “Till yesterday, I felt we would manage around 60 seats, but now I am convinced we will win 70. People now want to avenge the injustice meted out to Chautala and that’s the reason why the INLD-SAD alliance will sweep the state,” he said.

Badal said SAD would always remain steadfast in its support to Chautala sahab and the INLD. “Gala kataya ja sakda hai, INLD de naal naata nahi todaya ja sakda (throat can be slit, but our relation with the INLD cannot be broken).”

The SAD president recounted how Parkash Singh Badal and Om Prakash Chautala were men of words. “Once any of these leaders makes a commitment, you can consider it done. The innovative schemes and projects proposed by Chautala will usher in an era of social security,” he said.

Referring to Hooda, the SAD president said the Chief Minister had spent an amount of Rs 200 crore on false propaganda.

Meham, October 11
It had all the ingredients of a high-voltage rally. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s friend-turned-foe and HJCP chief Venod Sharma was slated to be the main speaker. Local youths longed to hear the young turk of the state politics, Kuldeep Bishnoi.

Actors Mahima Chaudhary and Sunil Shetty were to add glamour to the event organised by young moneybag and JCP Meham nominee Saurab Farmana.

The rally was scheduled to begin at 9 am. Eager for a glimpse of the stars, people started assembling in the morning. More and more people thronged the new grain market as word about the actors’ arrival spread.

The audience listened to a rendition of Haryanavi songs by an orchestra group as it waited for the actors. The actors finally arrived around noon and as soon as they reached the stage, a commotion broke out.

Proving that policemen, bouncers and volunteers were inadequate, a large number of people, especially youngsters, barged into the venue.

In their eagerness, the crowd created a ruckus. The fencing put around the venue was broken and repeated requests to maintain order from the stage notwithstanding, villagers were all over the place in minutes.

The residents occupied the media enclosure and the entire space around the dais. Some of them even climbed up the pillars and reached the roof to be able to see the actors clearly.

Finally, Mahima and Sunil addressed the gathering amid the din, sought votes for Farmana and left. As soon as they alighted, fans followed them.

Another few speeches and a couple of Haryanavi songs followed, but there was no trace of the leaders. An atmosphere of confusion prevailed for some time, before the organisers revealed that Venod and Bishnoi would not come as their helicopters were not allowed to land.

“Venod had to come from Chandigarh and Bishnoi from Hisar. Another chopper had been arranged to shower flowers. We had taken permission, but it was withdrawn at the 11th hour,” an organiser said.

Rohtak Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer Amit Agarwal maintained that they had not withdrawn permission.

Chandigarh, October 11
The Congress believes in giving a long rope to its leaders, which probably explains the delay in action against those who went party hopping. It has expelled 46 leaders for contesting against Congress candidates or working against party’s interests.

Ordering the expulsion of Congressmen who are contesting on the ticket of other parties or as independents, state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar has asked official candidates for post-poll feedback on those who indulged in anti-party activities. He asked candidates to report such instances by October 22.

Sources said the Congress did too little too late as expulsions were unlikely to serve any purpose. The expelled had filed nomination papers, campaigned for other candidates and publicly distanced themselves from the Congress.

“After the damage has been done, expulsion is a formality. They will not rejoin the Congress after the elections. They have gone for good, making the exercise futile. It does not send a zero tolerance message on indiscipline. They know that they can carry on anti-party activities and nobody will act for a long time,” a party leader said.

In April, after the General Election, the party had initiated action against dissidents. It had expelled 19 leaders, including Rao Inderjit Singh and Ambala MLA Venod Sharma. This action had been taken after the leaders went public with their intention of quitting the party and had contested the elections.

Insiders said the party invited complaints for anti-party activities after every election, which gathered dust in files with no senior leader facing the music.

Kalanwali (Sirsa), October 11
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of working against the interests of the poor to benefit a few rich industrialists.

Addressing a rally, Rahul accused Modi of having grabbed people’s votes by making false promises and said whatever Modi said during campaigning proved wrong after he became the Prime Minister.

Rahul said Modi used to boast that China and Pakistan would fear India after he took charge. “A day after Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoyed swings with Modi, Chinese soldiers entered Ladakh,” Rahul said.

Pakistani forces were continuing firing, he said. He accused the Prime Minister of colluding with a lobby of industrialists, which led to lifting of controls on drug prices at the behest of US companies.

He said prices of medicines for treatment of diabetes, high BP and cancer had risen sharply due of this.

“Modi has ensured that hard-earned money goes into wallets of certain industrialists. The Congress government had made medicines free for the poor. But today, drugs for treatment of cancer have shot up from Rs 8,000 to Rs 1 lakh,” he said.

He alleged that the objective of Modi’s visit was to please US companies. Rahul again referred to Modi as opposition leader, but his expression indicated that he was referring to the state.

Rahul said Haryana had witnessed a lot of development during the Congress regime. He asserted that the Congress was proud of the state’s soldiers, farmers and sportspersons. He coined the slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Pahalwan”.

He said players from the state contributed 30 per cent medals even though it had only 2 per cent of the population. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda lashed out at the Centre for its failure to provide remunerative prices to farmers for their paddy produce.