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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Tuesday, August 31, 1999 |
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Reservation for Jats: PM REWARI, Aug 30 — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today asserted that the BJP and its allies would form the next government at the Centre and wondered why the Congress was silent on the issue of Article 356 of the Constitution. Martyr's widow unnerves Cong BAWAL (Mahendragarh), Aug 30 — The Congress today stepped up its campaign for its nominee, Rao Inderjit Singh, from Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency in view of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s public meeting in the neighbouring Rewari town to mobilise support for the BJP nominee. |
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Using choppers to woo voters ROHTAK, Aug 30 — The use of helicopters by leading political personalities and leaders has become the latest fad in ‘electioneering’ in the state. Traders
to oppose HVP man in Rohtak BJP,
INLD will win all seats: Sampat Khurana
asks people to elect able PM
Congress
will bring stability, says Bhajan 2
killed, 13 hurt in mishap Youth
stabbed to death Phone
bills: curbs annoy customers Bid
to loot petrol station, 6 held |
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Reservation for Jats : PM REWARI, Aug 30 — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today asserted that the BJP and its allies would form the next government at the Centre and wondered why the Congress was silent on the issue of Article 356 of the Constitution. Addressing a well-attended public meeting in KLP College ground to canvass support for the BJP nominee, Mrs Sudha Yadav, Mr Vajpayee said that the Congress was in trouble in almost all the states. According to him, unlike the last Lok Sabha election, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominees were better placed in Rajasthan in the coming election. There are obvious signs of change in Rajasthan’s politics. The Jat Mahasabha, which had supported the Congress in the last election, has decided to extend support to the NDA nominees, he added. Speaking in Sikar earlier Mr Vajpayee had categorically said that it would extend reservation to Jats, Meo's Bishnois etc. Mr Vajpayee said that he was personally not in favour of focussing on individuals and personalities during the campaign, and the BJP and its allies were trying to keep electioneering on a higher plane. The speech of Mr Vajpayee, though "Kargil-centric", was in keeping with the character of Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency, especially Rewari, which is considered the fountainhead of Ahirwal politics. Also, the speech was in tune with the candidature of Mrs Sudha Yadav, a widow of Mr Sukhvir Singh Yadav, Deputy Commandant of the Border Security Force who lost his life during the Kargil conflict. Mr Vajpayee began his speech by condoling the deaths of the Jawans from Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency and paying rich tributes to their valour. Significantly, Mr Vajpayee did not name any political party, other than the Congress in his an half hour speech. Referring to the speech of Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, at Faridabad, where she reportedly cited the fall of the Bansi Lal government in Haryana to support the argument that the BJP was averse to stable governments, Mr Vajpayee said his party withdrew support to Mr Bansi Lal when it was convinced that it was not in the interest of Haryana. "The BJP chose to give outside support to the INLD government" he said. He said rather than the BJP, it was the Congress which indulged in destabilisation of governments. He cited the fall of his government. The enthusiasm of the crowd was notable, applauding Mr Vajpayee several times. Another feature was the presence of a large number of women at the meeting. A large number of people had to stand outside the college ground due to shortage of space. The KLP College ground is considered the most spacious venue for public meetings. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, praised the leadership qualities of the PM. Mr Chautala assured Mr Vajpayee that NDA nominees would win all ten seats in Haryana. A former minister Mr Tek
Chand Nayan, who claimed to once being a leader of the
HVP, joined the BJP. |
Martyr's widow unnerves Cong BAWAL (Mahendragarh), Aug 30 — The Congress today stepped up its campaign for its nominee, Rao Inderjit Singh, from Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency in view of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s public meeting in the neighbouring Rewari town to mobilise support for the BJP nominee, Mrs Sudha Yadav. Although senior leaders of the party were reported to have fanned out in their respective areas of influence, Rao Inderjit Singh along with Congress MLA from Rewari, Capt Ajay Singh, and former Minister of Haryana, Mrs Shakuntala Bhagwaria, had concentrated their campaign on the reserved Bawal assembly segment of Mahendragarh parliamentary constituency. In villages, including Saban Majri, Kharakwas, Saharanwas and Bhontwas where Congress leaders campaigned, they devoted much of their time to convincing the gathering that the BJP was trying to politicise the Kargil issue for electoral gains. Capt Ajay Singh’s refrain was that Rao Inderjit hailed from a family of martyrs and former Prime Ministers — Mrs Indira Gandhi and Mr Rajiv Gandhi — had also lost their lives for the country. But the Congress was not indulging in "cheap" politics and politicising these issues. The Congress leaders’ animated speeches on Kargil are not without background. Mrs Sudha Yadav is the widow of Mr Sukhvir Singh Yadav, Deputy Commandant of the Border Security Force who lost his life during the Kargil conflict. Mahendragarh has also earned the distinction of being the only parliamentary constituency where the BJP has fielded a war widow as it has a comparatively large number of retired and serving personnel in the defence services. The BJP nominee was apparently getting a good response at various places unnerving the Congress. Addressing a gathering in village Kharakwas, Rao Inderjit said that the BJP had dragged Mrs Sudha Yadav in to party politics a few days after she became a widow. This was against Hindu tradition which does not allow such activities upto six months after a woman becomes a widow. He said that the BJP was trying to reap political benefit from the death of the Jawans. "The Congress will do something concrete in the interest of the kith and kin of our war heroes", he said. In village Saharanwas, Rao Inderjit urged the audiences to give a befitting reply to the BJP amidst applause. This village is considered to be a stronghold of the Congress as it is the birth place of Capt Ajay Singh. Talking to a group of newsmen in village Saban Majri, the Congress nominee was optimistic that he would perform better than the last parliamentary election in the Bawal assembly segment. Rao Inderjit, a sitting MP from this constituency, had secured a lead over the BJP in Bawal assembly in the 1998 elections. Although the HVP nominee, Mr Jaswant Singh, who is now an INLD leader and minister in the Haryana government, had won from Bawal assembly constituency, it is considered to be loyal to former Chief Minister Rao Birender Singh, the father of Rao Inderjit. A former minister, Mrs Shakuntala Bhagwaria, represented this constituency in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha a number of times. Rao Inderjit rebutted
reports that there was factionalism in the party and that
a section of its leaders were not active in the election
campaign. |
In the memory of martyrs KURUKSHETRA: Kurukshetra University has decided to institute two gold medals in the memory of its two alumni who were killed in the Kargil sector during the recent Indo-Pak conflict. Besides this, the university will introduce stipends in the memory of those alumni who were killed in Kargil and Dras sectors. This is the first university in the country to do so. Dr M.L. Ranga, Vice-Chancellor of the university, told TNS that the two gold medals would be given away during university's annual convocation in the name of Capt Jintu Gogoi and Deputy Commandant, Satpal Singh, BSF. Both of them were former students of the departments of social work and physics, respectively. NSS volunteers have collected Rs 40,000 for instituting the two medals. Dr Ranga stated that the university had also organised a 'shanti havan' at Community Centre of the university for the brave soldiers. Close relations of the two warriors were also invited. Dr Ranga recalled that Captain Gogoi who belonged to the Assam Rifles was a student of MA (Social Work) during the year 1992-93. Satpal Singh, a former Deputy Commandant of the Border Security Force, was a student of the Physics Department during the year 1982-83. Besides, two other alumni of the university Major Nitin Bali and Capt Sandeep Shankla had also sacrificed their lives in the Kargil sector. It is learnt that out of 200 soldiers who had sacrificed their lives during Operation Vijay from Punjab and Haryana, about 80 jawans hailed from Haryana alone. The Vice-Chancellor said out of them 20 to 25 soldiers were alumni of Kurukshetra University. Dr Ranga further said a book containing the life-sketches of these jawans would be published by the Social Work Department. The gold medals, he said, would be awarded to students of social work and physics departments who stood first during the annual examinations. Dr Ranga said the university had already taken steps to provide free education to the sons and wards of those killed during the Operation Vijay. Likewise, seats for them had also been reserved. He maintained that a number of students hailing from the families of these martyrs had already been given admission in the university. Dr Ranga stated that the Government of India has decided to award the Vir Chakra to martyr Captain Gogoi. Similarly, Captain Sandeep Shankla, another alumnus of the university was awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously. Mr L.C. Gupta, Director,
Distance Education, said the Directorate of
Correspondence Courses, had decided not to charge any fee
from the wards of warriors who had been killed during
Operation Vijay. |
Using choppers to woo voters ROHTAK, Aug 30 — The use of helicopters by leading political personalities and leaders has become the latest fad in ‘electioneering’ in the state. This trend, described by some political observers as ‘chopper attraction’ has become quite popular in view of the number of people turning out at public meetings in which a chopper is used by the main speaker or a VIP leader. According to an estimate the turnout at such meetings had been 50 to 100 per cent more than those in which the leaders do not use a helicopter to reach the destination. While there is only a week to go for the poll in the state, the use of choppers seems to be on the rise. As many as six top leaders of various parties, including the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Haryana Chief minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal had been using helicopters to reach the venue of their public meetings. Cine stars like Rajesh Khanna of the Congress and Shatrughan Sinha of the BJP have also been using choppers in their campaign. While Rajesh Khanna came to Rohtak in a chopper yesterday, Shatrughan Sinha reached Hisar in a chopper on August 28, to address a meeting. Mr Dhumal recently conducted a special tour of some districts in Haryana to woo the voters in favour of the BJP. The helicopter used by him became an attraction for children, youths and the aged where ever it landed. "We have come to
see the helicopter, and were not concerned who was there
to address the election meeting, as these have become
routine, these days" an old person remarked recently
in Jhajjar district. |
Traders to oppose HVP man in
Rohtak ROHTAK, Aug 30 — The Haryana Beopar Mandal has called upon the trading community to vote and support pro-trader candidates in the Lok Sabha elections slated for September 5. Mr Lakshmi Chand Gupta and Mr Bal Kishan Aggarwal, President and General Secretary of the Beopar Mandal, respectively, have in a joint statement said traders in the Bhiwani parliamentary constituency would oppose the HVP candidate, Mr Surender Singh, because of the anti-trader policies pursued by the Bansi Lal government. They alleged that the Bansi Lal government had instituted ‘false’ cases against traders, imposed taxes and insulted them. The Beopar Mandal said it considered the BJP nominee in Karnal, Mr I.D. Swami, pro-trader as his son was also an accused in criminal cases registered against the traders at Karnal. The Beopar Mandal said it had not decided to support any party or candidate as was being claimed by a candidate in Karnal. The Congress suffered a serious setback in Rohtak as six sitting municipal commissioners of the party have joined the INLD and extended support to its nominee, Mr Inder Singh. The Municipal Commissioners are Mrs Krishna Behal, Mr Subhash Sharma, Mr Sushil Madan, Mr Ashok Kumar, Mrs Angoori Devi and Mr Dev Anand. According to political
analysts, these municipal commissioners are close
associates of former minister, Mr Subhash Batra, who
himself has reportedly refused to actively support the
PCC chief and Congress candidate, Mr Bhupinder Singh
Hooda. Mr Batra who won from this assembly segment in
1991 had polled over 26,000 votes during the 1996
Assembly elections, which he had lost. |
BJP, INLD will win all
seats: Sampat FATEHABAD, Aug 30 — The Haryana Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, has clamed that the INLD BJP alliance in the state will create history in the forthcoming elections, and will win all 10 seats in Haryana. Addressing election meetings for the INLD candidate in Sirsa parliamentary constituency, Dr Sushil Indora today, Mr Sempat Singh said the people of the country would accept nobody except Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister. He said the large number of people coming to attend the public meetings of the Prime Minister was ample proof of this fact. In an obvious reference to former Union Minister, Ms Selja, the Finance Minister, said the so-called senior leaders of the Congress had to back out as they found themselves unable to face the Vajpayee wave. Mr Sampat Singh said the Prime Minister through his efforts had been able to take the country to a position where it was being considered as one of the top countries of the world. He said with Mr Om Prakash Chautala at the helm of affairs in Haryana, the people would see that it woule be the" raj " of have-nots in the country. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Indora said he wanted to complete the projects taken up by him during his last tenure. The minister addressed
public meetings at Bangaon, Bhodia Khera, Dhingsaren and
Bhardana villages. |
Khurana asks people to elect
able PM ROHTAK, Aug 30 — Describing the Congress as an "expert" in bringing down governments, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, former Delhi Chief Minister and a senior BJP leader, today warned the people to be cautious while selecting the leader of the nation from Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as their misjudgement could spoil the future of the nation. He was addressing an election meeting at Gandhi Nagar here in support of the BJP-INLD candidate for the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat, Mr Inder Singh, today. Mr Khurana said the general election which should have been held in 2003 were forced on the country by the Congress. He alleged the Vajpayee government had not been the first victim of conspiracy hatched by the Congress. Earlier also, this power-starved party had played a vital role in bringing down various governments. The BJP leader alleged that the poll campaign of Mrs Sonia Gandhi only contained the stories of the Nehru family and there was no mention of other national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, etc. He said at least 5 years' experience was required for appointing a simple accountant while Sonia had no experience. He pointed out that Mrs Sonia Gandhi had spent nearly 34 years in India but she could not learn the language of the nation. Mr Khurana said there were only two leaders in the world who were unhappy at the success of Kargil operation, the Pakistani Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, and Mrs Sonia Gandhi. He said Mrs Gandhi was pressurising the Union Government to inquire into the alleged failure of the Indian intelligence and the defence policy which could harm the morale of soldiers. He further said credit
cards had been given to farmers of the country and a
target of 5 crore additional cards had been set if the
party was voted to power. |
14 questions for Vajpayee ROHTAK, Aug 30 — An open letter by an organisation of ex-servicemen — Poorv Sainik Jagriti Manch — asking Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to answer fourteen questions raised in the letter about the Kargil conflict has become the talk of Rohtak parliamentary constituency. The letter asks among others why Pakistani soldiers captured by Indian forces were repatriated while Indian soldiers were battered to death by Pakistan. On the role of Union Defence Minister George Fernandes during the Kargil conflict, the letter asked how and why the Defence Minister gave a clean chit to the Pakistan government and, the ISI at the very beginning of the conflict. Stating that around 100 Indian armed forces personnel belonging to Haryana had made the supreme sacrifice while driving out Pakistani intruders from Indian soil the letter regretted that no "Paramvir Chakra" was conferred on any Indian officer or soldier from the state nor any special army recruitment rally held in Haryana during the conflict. Blaming the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for delay in launching the eviction drive in Kargil, the letter alleged that it was done intentionally to derive political mileage in the coming Lok Sabha elections. It termed the government
decision to give safe passage to the intruders, as
"desh droh". |
Congress will bring stability,
says Bhajan PANIPAT, Aug 30 — The former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress candidate from Karnal parliamentary constituency, Mr Bhajan Lal has called upon the people to vote for the Congress as only it can provide a stable government in the country. He was addressing a series of election meetings in and around Panipat on yesterday. Mr Bhajan Lal stated that the Congress had given stable governments and the country made tremendous progress during their tenure. On the contrary, the opposition parties could not provide a single stable government and their internal and ideological differences led to the fall of their governments, leading to mid-term poll in the country, he added. He claimed that the Congress was the most acceptable party to the electorate and the party had never played any politics based on caste, religion or region. The programmes and policies of the party always aimed at the upliftment of the poor and down-trodden people of the society, he added. Appealing to the people to vote for him in this election, Mr Bhajan Lal said the Congress could form the government at the Centre and he would be inducted as a Cabinet Minister being a senior Congress leader. He promised that if elected, Panipat would witness development in every sphere. While talking to mediapersons here yesterday Mr Bhajan Lal said he would retain this seat with a big margin as he would get votes from every caste and section of the society. Bhajan Lal is locked in
one of the closest contest of his political career
against the BJP-INLD nominee, Mr I.D. Swamy whom he had
defeated by a margin of more than 52,000 votes in the
last elections from this constituency. |
2 killed, 13 hurt in mishap PANIPAT, Aug 30 — Two persons died on the spot and 13 others were injured yesterday near Patti Kalyana when their vehicle, Tata-407 (HR 46A-3813) overturned as the tyre of the rear wheel burst. The truck was carrying vegetables from Panipat to Delhi. The deceased have been identified as Dilawar Singh (33) of Jorassi village and Karan Singh (40) of Jeetgarh village. The bodies would be handed over after a post-mortem examination. A case has been
registered under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC
against the driver Dhir Singh, who has absconded. |
Youth stabbed to death ROHTAK, Aug 30 — A youth was stabbed to death allegedly by three persons in Krishna colony last night. According to the police, the body of the deceased, Vinod (22) was recovered from a pond in the colony this morning. Mr Balbir, a brother of the deceased, has alleged in a complaint to the police that three youths of the same locality had murdered Vinod with knives and screw driver after a brawl. The police has registered a case but no arrest has been made so far. Meanwhile, in an
accident, Dilbagh Singh, a resident of Kheri Sampla
village, was crushed by an unknown vehicle on the Sampla
bypass road last night. |
Phone bills: curbs annoy
customers SONEPAT, Aug 30 — Non-acceptance of cash for telephone bills at the counter set up by the Telecom Department at the Department Telegraph Office (DTO) here is causing inconvenience and hardships to the subscribers. According to official sources, only cheques and bank drafts for the payment of telephone bills are being accepted at the counter and the subscribers who want to deposit cash have to return disappointed. The counter was closed ever since the in charge of the DTO was looted while he was on his way to deposit cash with a bank. When subscribers protested against the closure of the counter, the Telecom Department authorities directed the DTO to reopen the counter and accept cheques and bank drafts only from the subscribers. Representatives of
various political, social, business and industrial
organisations have jointly urged the Telecom Department
to take immediate steps for accepting cash against
telephone bills at the DTO counter to avoid inconvenience
to the subscribers. |
Bid to loot petrol station,
6 held AMBALA, Aug 30 — The local police has nabbed six persons who were planning to loot a petrol station on the Adhoya road near Barara, 25 km from here, yesterday night. The police has seized
two country made revolvers and five live cartridges from
their possession. All of them belong to Ambala district.
The police has registered a case under the Arms Act
against them. |
HTDC incentives to tourists CHANDIGARH, Aug 30 — On the occasion of its silver jubilee which coincides with the celebrations of ‘‘Explore India Year’’ on September 1, the Haryana Tourism Development Corporation today decided to offer several incentives to tourists. The incentives include 10 per cent discount on food at all tourist resorts of the Haryana Tourism Development Corporation, a blood donation camp at Tilyar Lake resort near Rohtak and painting competition at Badkhal Lake, apart from launching a massive tree plantation drive. Dr Harbaksh Singh, Chairman of the Haryana Tourism Development Corporation, said tourists would be requested to plant a sapling on the premises of tourist complexes before checking out. The plants had been contributed by the nurseries of the Haryana Tourist and Forest Department. A plate bearing the name of the tourist planting the sapling will be installed near the plant. The blood donors and children taking part in the painting competition would be provided snacks free of cost. Dr Singh said the new millennium will see a number of new tourism ventures in Haryana. Prominent among those under construction are a new tourist resort at Rai, upgradation of tourist facilities at Oasis and renovation of Pinjore Gardens. Dr Singh said a new fast
food centre would be developed at Tilyar Lake to
facilitate the tourists on the busy Delhi-Rohtak stretch
of National Highway No. 10. |
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