P R A D E S H
Thursday, August 5, 1999
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H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H |
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Thursday, August 5, 1999 |
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Speaker dismisses
petition |
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‘White paper’ will
expose Cong: BJP SHIMLA, Aug 4 — Mr Ganesh Dutt, State media chief of the BJP, has ridiculed the demand of Congress leaders for a ‘white paper’ on the Kargil issue and warned that any such document would only expose the lapses of its own governments at the Centre. Mankotia: defence men
given raw deal Delete
apple from OGL list: Ram Lal Tributes
paid to Dr Y.S. Parmar ‘Piped
water contaminated’ College
students observe strike |
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Speaker dismisses petition SHIMLA, Aug 4 — The Himachal Speaker, Mr Gulab Singh Thakur, today dismissed the petition seeking disqualification of two ministers — Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary — under the anti-defection law. He held their merger with the ruling BJP as genuine. The petition seeking their disqualification was filed by Congress MLA Kashmir Singh. The Speaker ruled that Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary had formed the Himachal Kranti Party (HKP) after splitting from the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) and merged their party with the BJP following which they were admitted to the legislature party of the BJP. As such their disqualification on ground of defection was not attracted as the merger was completely protected against the anti-defection law. Mr Kashmir Singh had sought disqualification of the two ministers as members of the Assembly on three grounds claiming that the HKP was not a registered political party, that a party in the name of Himachal Kranti Party already existed in the state and at least three members should have split from the HVC to make the merger legal. The Speaker observed that the petitioner had not succeeded in proving his contention that Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary had given up the membership of their original political party without insulating themselves of any exception or exemption provided under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. On the other hand, the respondents had clearly and concisely submitted their claim of split in their original political party and that of the merger of the post-split party with the BJP in consonance with the protections provided under para 3 and 4 of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, respectively. The respondents’ claim of split and merger has not been shattered by the petitioner by taking support of any connecting facts, evidence or any relevant mandatory provision of the Constitution or of any other law of the land. Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary contested the Assembly election on the HVC symbol last year. However, after winning the elections they formed a new party and disassociated from the HVC and merged their party with the BJP. The Speaker observed that Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary withdrew the replies filed by them on March 5, 1999, claiming that these were submitted under pressure and pleaded that their replies of December 10,1998 should be treated as correct and final. They contended that under the law it was not mandatory to register the new-formed political party before its merger with any other party. They had decided to
merge their new party with the BJP on March 11,1998 and
were subsequently admitted into the BJP on March 12 by Mr
P.K. Dhumal. The Speaker confirmed them to be members of
the BJP legislature group on March 31,1998. |
Shimla
seat SHIMLA, Aug 4 — The Election Committee of the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) of Mr Sukh Ram will meet here on Sunday to choose party candidate for the Shimla (reserved) Lok Sabha seat. Deadlock over the allocation of this seat to its alliance partner of the HVC by the ruling BJP continues as majority of the party leadership was not in favour of leaving the seat for the HVC which has so far failed to identify any suitable candidate. They say that the HVC should first name its candidate with winning prospects. Mr Sukh Ram apparently has made it a prestige issue that the BJP should leave the seat for his party to contest. Certain HVC leaders claim that they had candidates who could give a good fight to the Congress party in the coming elections. The BJP is contesting the other three seats. On the other hand, BJP activists accuse Mr Sukh Ram of playing a spoilsport by not relenting on the issue. They claim that although the BJP polled 42.58 per cent votes against only 4.32 per cent by the HVC for the Shimla seat in the last year’s Lok Sabha election, but it would be practically impossible to transfer the vote bank to the HVC if there was no BJP candidate in the field. Discontent was already visible among BJP activists over sharing of the seat with the HVC. They are confident that the BJP, is in a position to win the seat this time and allowing Mr Sukh Ram to field his nominee would result in losing a seat. Nothing, so far, has come out of the yesterday’s meeting between the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal and Mr Sukh Ram on the issue. The HVC men on the other hand claim that the BJP has never won the seat on its own except in 1977 during bitter anti-Congress wave when the BJP nominee won the Shimla (reserved) seat only on the Janata Party symbol. Without waiting for the seat being formally offered to him by the BJP, Mr Sukh Ram has decided to launch the election campaign of the HVC on August 9, a day after the Election Committee meeting accompanied by the PWD Minister, Mr Mohinder Singh, he is scheduled to address election rallies at Solan, Kasauli and Doon. A spokesman of the HVC has said that among those who have applied for ticket for the Shimla (reserved) seat are, Mr Madan Lal Tomar, Mr Mohan Lal Azad, Mr Chaman Lal Ghachli, Mr Tarsem Bharti and Ms Chanda Sethi. On the other hand, the Congress party is waiting for the BJP-HVC alliance to finalise its candidate and will announce their candidate only after that. Congress leaders
visualise that it would be a smooth sailing for their
candidate, Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, provided the seat was
given to the HVC by the BJP. Otherwise they might field
Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, an MLA, in case the BJP fielded its
candidate. |
Lake formed due to landslide DHARAMSALA, Aug 4 — A massive landslide in the ecologically fragile area of Khaniyara has not only led to the uprooting of hundreds of trees, but could spell a big disaster as an artificial lake has been formed in the area. Following heavy rains in the area, a massive movement has been triggered, as it is a landslide prone area. Due to the indiscriminate quarrying, the problem has been further intensified. It is in the Nagooni, Kondh and Plunta area, high above the Khaniyara village, where this mass movement is taking place. Residents of the Yol and Sidhbari area, reported that two days ago they heard a big explosion. They saw that literally the entire mountain was in motion. Since then the movement has been continuing, leading to the formation of an artificial lake. People are apprehensive that their houses could be washed away. Mr Ajit Kumar, who is running an NGO, the Dhauladhar Education Society in Yol, said the villagers who went up reported that luckily, due to the formation of an outlet, the water had started flowing out, but the landslide was still continuing. In fact, the movement is so huge that it is conspicuous on the face of the Dhauladhar, like a big blot, even from the distant villages facing the mountain ranges. What is causing even more concern is the setting up of a mini hydel project in the area. Villagers say that work on site selection and soil testing is underway for the setting up a power house on the Manooni Khud, with a capacity of 2 MW. People felt that if there is too much of activity in the area it could worsen the situation. The government should reconsider its decision to allow the setting up of the power project, as the area is landslide-prone, demanded Mr Ajit Kumar. The area, where landslides are taking place, has been witnessing unscientific mining over the years. Despite the ban by the Supreme Court, mining has been continuing indiscriminately because of the failure of the state government to regulate it on scientific lines. Quarrying has done irreparable damage to the environment and degraded the slopes. Environmentalists and various NGOs have been of the opinion that immediate restoration work should be undertaken to rehabilitate the degraded slopes. Keeping in mind the dependence of over 10,000 persons of the area on slate quarrying, it is high time the government made sincere efforts to regulate mining on scientific lines by getting environmental management plans prepared so that eco-friendly mining methods can be followed. The impact of the environmental degradation has already started manifesting itself in the form of flash floods and decreased soil fertility. The people say that
mining being their only source of livelihood, they have
no other option. They say that they are willing to do
mining on scientific lines provided the government guides
them in this. |
‘White paper’ will expose
Cong: BJP SHIMLA, Aug 4 — Mr Ganesh Dutt, State media chief of the BJP, has ridiculed the demand of Congress leaders for a ‘white paper’ on the Kargil issue and warned that any such document would only expose the lapses of its own governments at the Centre. In a statement here yesterday he said it was regrettable that the party which had remained in power for so long was trying to drive political mileage out of this sensitive issue and even making the sacrifices made by the valiant soldiers in fighting back Pakistani intruders a subject of political debate. He said while in Kargil jawans laid down their lives to liberate their motherland but during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister the lives of Indian soldiers were sacrificed in Sri Lanka for an alien cause. The Congress should have demanded a ‘white paper’ on the Indian peace keeping force (IPKF) fiasco. Similarly, successive Congress governments frittered away the gains registered by the Army in the battlefield in the 1965 and 1971 wars. It was for the first
time that the state and Central governments had come out
with comprehensive packages to rehabilitate the families
of those who made the supreme sacrifice for the country.
The state had announced that besides a grant of Rs 5
lakh, a member each of the martyr’s family would be
given job and children of the martyrs would be provided
free education. |
Mankotia: defence men given raw deal DHARAMSALA, Aug 4 — A former minister and President of the Ex-servicemen League. Mr Vijai Singh Mankotia, today said that successive governments over the past 50 years had not given a fair deal to retired defence personnel. Addressing a press conference here today, he said that despite repeated requests to the government, merely 20 per cent demands of the ex-servicemen had been accepted, and that too as if alms were being given to beggars. "No doubt everyone glorifies us during the time of the war, but only the ex-servicemen know, what trouble they have to face later on," he said. Mr Mankotia, said seeing the performance and sacrifices of soldiers and officers hailing from Himachal, the Central Government should have no hesitation in increasing the recruitment quota of the state."Ours is an economy basically dependent on defence services and this time during the Kargil conflict, we have proved that despite being a small state our contribution in saving the country from the onslaught of the enemy is large," he opined. Mr Mankotia, demanded that the government should hold an inquiry into the lapses, which led to the Kargil crisis, by a committee, headed by an independent and capable person like field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. He termed the inquiry commission set up by the government as an "eye wash", which would never serve the purpose. He said he had given a representation to the President in this regard. Mr Mankotia demanded a public scrutiny of all money that had been collected by various agencies in the name of the welfare of the defence personnel and their families. "Instead of the petrol stations and gas agencies being given to politicians and other VIPs I demand that the families of the martyrs or the disabled soldiers be given these benefits on priority," he stated. Accusing the Vajpayee
government of failure in discharging its duties, he said
that had there not been intelligence failure, the lives
of those killed could have been saved. He, however, said
that death and the sacrifices of the soldiers should not
be commercialised and politicised. He demanded that those
soldiers from Kangra, Hamirpur, Una and Kulu who had been
killed, their family members should be given jobs in the
Kangra Central Cooperative Bank, where the process of
recruitment was on. |
Delete apple from OGL list: Ram
Lal SHIMLA, Aug 4 — Mr Ram Lal Thakur, a former Chief Minister, has urged the Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir Governments to make efforts to persuade the Centre to delete apple from the list of items imported under the open general licence (OGL) scheme. He said these two premier apple-producing states, would be the worst hit. In a letter to Dr Farooq Abdullah, he said Mr P.K. Dhumal, state Chief Minister, had already taken up the matter with Mr Ram Krishna Hegde, Union Commerce Minister, and urged him to safeguard the interests of poor growers who would be doomed due to unrestricted import of apple from abroad. Already apple from countries like Australia, New Zealand and the USA had flooded the market. He cautioned that in case the import of the fruit and its by-products was allowed to continue unabated, it would cripple the apple industry and ruin the economy of hilly areas of the country. Though the situation, the former Chief Minister said, has arisen due to the International Trade Agreement, national interest should reign supreme. There was strong justification and an urgent need to review the decision to save fruit growers from the impending economic disaster. He said the apple industry in the country was still in its infancy and could not compete with developed countries which possessed advanced production technology, resulting in low-cost production. Besides, these countries had proper grading machines and marketed their produce in impressive packaging. The growers of Himachal
were not getting the usual price for their early
varieties, despite a huge shortfall in production.
Needless to say Jammu and Kashmir, the largest producer
of apple in the country, would have to bear the brunt of
the import policy along with Himachal, he added. |
‘Piped water contaminated’ JWALAMUKHI, Aug 4 — Residents of this temple town have been complaining that piped water supplied by the Irrigation and Public Health Department is not fit for drinking. They complained that they often experienced congestion of throat after drinking water, adding that they had not been using this water for cooking purpose for the past couple of weeks. They regretted that the department concerned had taken no steps to solve the problem and feared the outbreak of cholera.
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ABVP threatens statewide stir SHIMLA, Aug 5 — The state unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad (ABVP) has threatened to start a statewide agitation from August 12 if Himachal Pradesh University failed to announce the schedule for holding elections to the Student Central Association within a week. Activists of the ABVP
will stage dharnas and observe fast on the university
campus and various colleges in the State. The parishad is
also demanding a golden chance for failed students and
admission to students who have passed after
re-evaluation. |
College students observe strike SHIMLA, Aug 4 — Teaching work in most colleges in the state was affected today as students abstained from classes on a call given by the Students Federation of India. Agitating students took out processions and raised slogans against the Himachal University authorities. A spokesman for the federation claimed that the strike was complete in colleges at Kotshera, Sanjauli, Theog, Rampur, Seema, Sawra, Solan, Palampur, Baijnath, Mandi, Sarkaghat, Sundernagar, Joginder-nagar, Karsog, Kulu, and Una. Students held rally on
the campus. They alleged that the university had become a
puppet in the hands of the government. The federation is
demanding immediate announcement of schedule for holding
elections to the Students Central Association, withdrawal
of fee hike and golden chance to failed students. |
2 IAF
pilots
charred as copter crashes SHIMLA, Aug 4 — A Cheetah helicopter of the Indian Air Force, which was on a rescue mission to the tribal Lahaul valley, crashed at 10.15 a.m. at Kargyak in the adjoining Ladakh area today. Squadron Leader A. Siddiqui, pilot, and Flight Lt Pandey, co-pilot, were charred to death as the ill-fated aircraft went up in flames after the crash. According to Mr Ashiwini Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Kulu, the helicopter was requisitioned to evacuate a German tourist, stranded near Udaipur in the Lahaul valley. It took off from the helipad at the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Manali, this morning and strayed into the Ladakh area. The IAF has rushed two helicopters to recover the body of the victims. The spot has been cordoned off with the help of locals. The cause of crash is
not known yet. |
Tributes paid to Dr Y.S. Parmar NAHAN, Aug 4 — On the occasion of 94th birth anniversary of the first Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar, a state-level function was organised at Dadahu, 34 km from here, today by the State Art Culture and Language Academy. All writers and other eminent persons present in the function paid rich tributes to Dr Parmar. Mr K.R. Bharti, Director, H.P. Language and Culture Department said that without Dr Parmar one could not imagine the existence of Himachal Pradesh. He in real sense was the proponent of rich cultural heritage of the state. Mr Jagdish Sharma, Secretary Himachal Art Culture and Language Academy also paid rich tributes to "Himachal nirmata". A writers' conference was organised to discuss the contribution of Dr Parmar in making modern Himachal. At another function
organised at Rajgarh, 110 km from here, floral tributes
were paid to Dr Parmar by the prominent persons of the
town. |
Students hold demonstration SHIMLA, Aug 4 — Inmates of Ava Lodge Boys Hostel of Himachal University today staged a demonstration in protest against the police raid on the hostel yesterday. They demanded the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor for allowing the entry of police into the hostel. Mr O.C. Thakur, Superintendent of Police, said the police raided the hostel after an anonymous telephone caller informed that two girls were being raped by students. The police reacted promptly to the call which proved to be a hoax.
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Jwalamukhi fair from Aug 11 JWALAMUKHI, Aug 4 — The annual 10-day Jwalamukhi fair (Sawanashtami) will start here on August 11. This was announced here
today by the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Mr Brij Kumar
Aggarwal. Arrangements for the fair had been made on
direct buses will ply between Jwalamukhi, Chandigarh and
Hoshiarpur. The Deputy Commissioner said medicine,
kerosene and other essential commodities would be made
available. He also banned the carrying of all types of
fire arms, ammunition and weapons inside the territory of
Dehra subdivision of the district with immediate effect. |
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