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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Thursday, February 4, 1999 |
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Sack Bansi, 35 MLAs urge
Governor |
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 Price rollback to benefit few : CPM ROHTAK, Feb 3 — The Haryana unit of the CPM has said that the rolling back of prices of wheat and rice would not benefit the poor families in the state as there were very few consumers in the below-the-poverty-line category. |
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Budget
untimely, says Chautala |
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Sack Bansi, 35 MLAs urge
Governor CHANDIGARH, Feb 3 — All Opposition MLAs, including those of the Congress and the Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya), today submitted a joint memorandum to the Haryana Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad, demanding the dismissal of the Bansi Lal Government. The 35 MLAs who went to the Governor this morning included Mr Om Parkash Chautala and Mr Sampat Singh (HLDR) and Mr Birender Singh, Mr Khurshid Ahmed and Mrs Kartar Devi (Congress) and Mr Dev Raj Dewan (Independent). This was perhaps the first time that the Opposition MLAs of these two parties had joined hands to protest against the alleged high-handedness of the Bansi Lal Government in securing the suspension of nine MLAs of the Opposition "without any serious reason". In their memorandum, the legislators urged the Governor to prorogue the ongoing Budget session of the Vidhan Sabha and dismiss the HVP-BJP Government and call a fresh session to allow a new government by proving its majority on the floor of the House. It said the Governor could study the entire situation and find out the real position. It was well known, the memorandum said, that the HVP-BJP Government was in a minority and was continuing with the support of Independents. It had followed undemocratic policies which had made the life of the common man miserable. The Bansi Lal Government, it said, had lost the confidence of the people. Before it could fall, the Chief Minister highjacked the Vidhan Sabha to a well-planned conspiracy. By suspending nine members of the Vidhan Sabha, the Chief Minister had planned a save-the-government action. To achieve his object, the memorandum said, the Chief Minister had misused the office of the Speaker in the House. Mr Chautala told the Governor that the Speaker, Mr Chhattar Singh Chauhan, had functioned in a biased manner in suspending the nine MLAs. He specifically told him that Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala was leaving the House when the Speaker suspended him without giving him any warning. Later, Mr Chautala told newsmen that those present in the House would urge the Speaker to take back the action against the nine suspended MLAs and allow them to be present in the House. When the Vidhan Sabha met
for the Budget session this afternoon, the suspended MLAs
staged a dharna outside the complex and raised slogans
against the Bansi Lal Government. |
Haryana Oppn guns for Speaker CHANDIGARH, Feb 3 — A record was created in the history of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha here today when the Opposition gave notice of a resolution to remove the Speaker, Prof Chhattar Singh Chauhan, from his office for the third time in the consecutive three sessions of the House. As soon as the House assembled for the day's proceedings at 2 p.m, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, stood up and told the Speaker that since the Opposition had given notice of the resolution to remove him from office, he had no right to be in the chair and instead the Deputy Speaker should preside. Mr Chautala was supported, among others, by Mr Khurshid Ahmed (Cong), who said the resolution should be taken up for consideration immediately as per Prof Chauhan's own decision in the Budget session of 1998. However, the Speaker said under Article 179 (C) of the Constitution, a 14-day notice was mandatory. Hence, the resolution could not be taken up immediately. Chief Minister Mr Bansi Lal, Education Minister and Leader of the BJP Legislature Party Ram Bilas Sharma and Agriculture Minister Karan Singh Dalal supported the Speaker and read out the constitutional provision and said no one could violate the Constitution. Mr Bansi Lal said Article 179 (C) clearly says that the Speaker "may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Assembly passed by a majority of all the then members of the Assembly. "Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (C) shall be moved unless at least 14 days' notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution". He said no rule could supersede the Constitution. When Mr Chautala insisted that the Speaker should vacate the chair since their motion was against him, Prof Chauhan named him and asked him to leave the House. Mr Khurshid Ahmed said the Speaker was bound to read their notice in the House under Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Haryana Legislative Assembly. He said Rule 11 provided that "as soon as may be after the receipt of notice of a resolution to remove the Speaker from his office under Article 179 (C) of the Constitution, the Speaker shall read the notice to the Assembly and shall then request members who are in favour of leave being granted to move the resolution to rise in their places and if not less than 23 members rise accordingly, the Speaker shall allow the resolution to be moved..." Mr Ahmed insisted that their notice should be dealt with in accordance with this rule. The Speaker, however, did not agree. Mr Ahmed said the Speaker was committing contempt of the House by not reading their notice. Later he led the entire Opposition members in walking out of the House, which later took up the truncated question hour. The Opposition members did not return to the House when Finance Minister Charan Dass Shorewala presented the Budget. The Opposition had first given notice for the removal of the Speaker in the Budget session of 1998. Prof Chauhan had then taken the notice into consideration the same day when most of the Opposition members were not present in the House during the afternoon sitting. The resolution was not able to get the necessary support of 23 MLAs for being moved. However, when the
Opposition gave a similar notice in the next session, the
Speaker did not follow the past precedent set up by him
and insisted on the mandatory notice period. The history
repeated itself in the House today. |
Price rollback to benefit few :
CPM ROHTAK, Feb 3 — The Haryana unit of the CPM has said that the rolling back of prices of wheat and rice would not benefit the poor families in the state as there were very few consumers in the below-the-poverty-line (BPL) category. It said here today that during a survey of the BPL families, the district authorities had committed mistakes in identifying such families. He demanded that a meeting of elected representatives of panchayats and municipal committees be held at the district level to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS) and make the process of identifying the BPL families transparent. The party said that the hike in prices of PDS essentials would practically remain in force in Haryana though more and more families in Punjab and Haryana have come under the BPL category during the last decade. Moreover, the economic conditions of marginal and small farmers have deteriorated due to water logging and other causes. The agricultural labourers too, have suffered because of these factors, the party said. Meanwhile, the Janata Dal
has decided to hold rallies in different parts of the
state to mobilise the farmers and labourers against the
'anti-people' policies being pursued by the Vajpayee
government. The first such meeting would be held on March
6 at Faridabad, the state party chief, Mr Ved Parkash
Vidrohi, said. |
Budget untimely, says Chautala CHANDIGARH, Feb 3 — Two Opposition parties in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, the Lok Dal and the Congress, have criticised the ruling HVP-BJP combine for presenting the Budget estimates for 1999-2000 before the House today before the finalisation of the state's Annual Plan. The Leader of the Opposition and President of the Lok Dal, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, said the Budget was untimely and accused the government of rushing through and presenting the Budget even though the Annual Plan of the state was still to be finalised by the Planning Commission. He said the Bansi Lal Government had violated the tradition of the state Budgets being presented after the Central Budget and finalisation of the states Annual Plans. Mr Chautala said it was surprising that the government was claiming that the Annual Plan for 1999-2000 had been hiked by 27.7 per cent to Rs 2300 crore from Rs 1800 crore for 1998-99. The fact was that the current year's plan had been reduced to Rs 1,800 crore from the original plan of Rs 2260 crore. Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, a spokesman of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party, described the Budget as directionless, and a meaningless jugglery of figures. He said the Budget lacked thrust for development and concern for the poor. Considering that 45 per cent of the resources of the state came from the Central pool, the presentation of the Budget was a mere hoax and an eyewash, particularly when the Annual Plan had not been finalised by the Planning Commission. Capt Ajay Singh (retd)
also criticised the presentation of the Budgetd before
the finalisation of the Annual Plan. |
Hooda warns of action AMBALA, Feb 3 — The president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, wanted here today that disciplinary action would be taken against those who boycotted Kranti Padayatra started by the party in the state. Addressing a press conference, Mr Hooda said it was the party's programme and not his individual venture. He said all Congressmen were participating in the padayatra which was receiving a tremendous response from all sections of society. He said there would be a change in the political scene in the state after the party's rally at Jind on February 13. It would be addressed by many central leaders. Mr Hooda said the Congress was ready to support any group of MLAs in the state if it was anti-communal and secular as people wanted to get rid of the HVP-BJP Government. He said that there was every possibility of such a group emerging in view of the disgruntled MLAs in the HVP and the India National Lok Dal (INLD). However, he clarified that the Congress would not join such a government and would extend support from outside. Later, addressing a public meeting at Babyal village organised by Mr Mohan Singh Bhanokheri, he said the INLD was trying to befool people as its president, Mr Devi Lal, had become a Rajya Sabha MP with the support of the HVP and the BJP which were ruling the state. He said Ambala district had been ignored by all previous governments but in case he got an opportunity to serve people, he would end the stepmotherly treatment. The HPCC president said the Congress would not rest till the state government was dislodged. Mrs Sonia Gandhi trying to restore the old glory to the party. He said the padayatra had rejuvenated the party and the trend in the Congress in 1996 was being reversed as those who had left it and workers from other parties were rejoining it. The padayatra was received at Panjokhra Sahib, near here, yesterday by Mr Pritam Singh, Mr Balwant Gupta, Mr Phool Chand Mullana, Mr Shiv Kumar Sharma, and Mr Dalip Chawla, district Congress leaders. Mr Hooda was accompanied by Mr Kripa Ram Punia and Dr Ram Parkash. YAMUNANAGAR: Kranti Padayatra was flagged off by Dr Ram Parkash, a former minister, here on Wednesday. Dr Ram Parkash disclosed that the padayatra would reach Pipli in Kurukshetra district on February 6. SIRSA: AICC
secretary Ms Selja addressed public meetings in
Rattakhera, Rajpura, Nuhianwali Ghunkawali, Khaishergarh
and Khaira villages in the district in connection with
Kranti Padayatra. |
Notify UGC grades immediately:
HAUTA HISAR, Feb 3 — The Haryana Agricultural University Teachers Association has expressed concern over the "inordinate delay in notifying the pay scales and package of service conditions". In a letter addressed to the Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Som Pal, the President of HAUTA, Dr Dalel Singh, pointed out that the UGC scales had been implemented by several universities in several states. Several ICAR institutes had already released a portion of arrears to their scientists, while the scientists and teachers working in state agricultural universities had not received any relief so far. Dr Singh highlighted the resentment among the teaching and scientific community of these universities and demanded immediate implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations. A delegation of the newly elected HAUTA officer-bearers, including its Vice-President, Dr R.C. Dogra, and Secretary, Dr H.K. Verma, met the Vice-Chancellor, Mr J.B. Chowdhury. The HAUTA has also sought
representations from teachers and scientists of the
university about their alleged grievances on AHRD
scholarship nominations for abroad. The HAUTA President
said the association would scrutinise these
representations and discuss them with the administration
so that confusions are removed. |
Opposition to meet Governor CHANDIGARH, Feb 3 — The Opposition in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha will meet Governor Mahabir Prasad and urge him not to prorogue the House till their notice of a resolution to remove the Speaker from his office is read out in the House. Mr Khurshid Ahmed and Mr Randeep Surjewala (both of Cong) said here today that since the Speaker had taken the stand that a 14 days' notice was mandatory for moving a resolution for his removal, they had every reason to believe that the Speaker would adjourn the House sine die followed by the Cabinet's recommendation to the Governor to prorogue the House before the expiry of the 14 days' notice period. The Congress MLAs said now they could get justice only from the Governor who was constitutionally bound to see that the government did not use its brute majority to trample upon the rights of the MLAs, particularly those of the Opposition. They said if the House was
prorogued before their notice was taken into
consideration, it would lapse. By convening sessions of
duration shorter than 14 days, the ruling party would
defeat the purpose of Article 179(C) which provided for
the removal of the Speaker. Moreover, going by the ruling
party's interpretation of the constitutional provision,
coupled with the fact that the present government had
never convened sessions of duration longer than 14 days,
one could say that the Speaker could never be removed by
the majority of the House. |
Notification on civic byelections
issued CHANDIGARH, Feb 3 — The State Election Commission, Haryana, has decided to hold municipal by- elections to elect members in ward No. 1 and 10 of the Loharu and Jakhal, municipal committees, respectively, on March 21. The notification prescribing the election time schedule was issued here today by the state Election Commission, Mr J.K. Duggal, Election Commissioner, Haryana, said. The electoral rolls of all wards of the Bawani Khera municipal committee in Bhiwani district where a seat has fallen vacant, will be prepared from February 4 to 21 and its draft publication will be done on February 22. Election to fill the vacant seat will be held in April.
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Robbery in jewellery shop AMBALA, Feb 3 — Two youths robbed a jewellery shop in Sarafa Bazar in the cantonment last evening. According to an FIR lodged by Mr Ravi Kant, son of the jeweller, Mr Hari Chand, the robbers assaulted a shop employee around 9.15 p.m last night and then forced the owner to open an almirah at gunpoint. When the jeweller tried to resist, they beat him up and escaped after collecting gold ornaments. The jeweller rang up the control room from a neighbouring shop, but the SHO arrived on the scene only after more than an hour. In the morning, when the shopkeepers learnt that no FIR had been lodged in this connection, they put up the shutters in protest against the inaction and later staged a dharna in front of the police station. The shopkeepers also raised slogans against the police. It was only after an assurance by the DSP, Mr J.S. Lamba, that an FIR would be lodged soon and the police would patrol the area that the shopkeepers agreed to open the shops. Later, a case under Section 386 of the IPC was registered in this connection.
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258 fined for power theft HISAR, Feb 3 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam detected about 1,000 cases of power theft during the current financial year in the areas of its Hisar operation circle, it is learnt from official sources. According to the sources, the maximum number of cases were detected during November and December under a special campaign launched by the nigam and 258 erring consumers caught and fined. During the Year, the nigam carried out 29,636 raids and imposed a fine of about Rs 2 crore on those who committed irregularities or theft. FIRs were also lodged against about 300 consumers. The campaign which began
in December concluded on January 20. It was launched in
Hisar and would now be started at Fatehabad. |
Dowry claims two lives FARIDABAD, Feb 3 — Two dowry deaths have been reported in the district during the past 24 hours, according to police. Suman of Mandkoli village in Palwal was allegedly burnt to death by her in-laws for dowry. Although a case has been registered against the husband, father in-law, mother in-law and sister in-law of Suman no arrest has been made yet. She was married five years ago and had a son. In another case Divya Gupta (20) was allegedly poisoned to death by her in-laws in Ballabhgarh. She was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state and died soon afterwards. The police has registered a case against her in-laws on the complaint of her fosterfather. Three persons have been arrested.
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11-year-old held for murder FARIDABAD, Feb 3 — The police has arrested an 11-year-old boy in Palwal sub-division on a charge of murdering an eight-year-old boy of Dighot village. It is stated that Azad, alias Ajji (11), forcibly took Manoj (8) from his house to a secluded place near the canal and killed him with a hacksaw. Later, he threw the body into the water. The two boys were having strained relations. Azad has been lodged in
Borstal Home in Sonepat. |
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