Malvika Pathania joins BJP
NURPUR, Sept 5 — Ms Malvika Pathania, Chiarperson of the Himachal Pradesh Social Welfare Advisory Board and a close confidant of a former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today left the Congress and joined the BJP at a well-attended poll meeting of the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, and the BJP candidate from the Kangra parliamentary constituency, Mr Shanta Kumar, at Jassur, near here.

Security geared up in Solan
SOLAN, Sept 5 — The police, following a tip off by a central agency about a possible strike, in Himachal Pradesh, by mercenaries, on VIPs during poll campaigns has started beefing up security measures here.

Cong-Left pact unholy: Chandel
SHIMLA, Sept 5 —Mr Suresh Chandel, president of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, criticised the Congress for entering into" unholy and unprincipled" alliances to grab power.

Police shielding accused: Khachi
SHIMLA, Sept 5 — Mr J.B.L. Kachi, former Minister for Public Works and a senior Congress leader, has demanded the arrest of activists of the BJP and the HVC allegedly assaulted the Principal of the senior secondary school at Baragaon in Kumarsain yesterday.

Another bus victim identified
BILASPUR, Sept 5 — Another victim of the bus mishap which occurred close to Gambhrolla bridge near here yesterday, in which nine persons were killed, has been identified as Onkar Singh of Kothi village in Bilaspur Sadar. One body is still to be identified.

SEWA in service of needy
SHIMLA, Sept 5 — SEWA (Social Education and Welfare Association), Southall, a London-based charitable trust, is organising a series of eye camps in the region to provide intraocular lenses to needy patients free of cost.

Computer centre inaugurated
BILASPUR, Sept 5 — Chief Justice Doraiswamy Raju of the HP High Court inaugurated NIC Computer Centre at judicial complex here yesterday. He said with the inauguration of the centre the local judicial complex here had been connected with judicial complexes in 10 districts in the state and also with the HP High Court in Shimla. He said the centre would help in the faster administration and delivery of justice.

CITU ‘protest day’ on Sept 16
SHIMLA, Sept 5 — The state unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has decided to observe September 16 as "protest day" to highlight police repression and denial of democratic rights to workers in the Nathpa-Jhakri project.

Compensation for acquired land
Virbhadra ‘distorted’ HC verdict
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 5 — Mr Ganesh Dutt, in charge of the BJP media cell, has charged Mr Virbhadra Singh, Leader of the legislature Congress Party in Himachal, with distorting the recent High Court verdict regarding the acquisition of his brother's land by the Nathpa-Jhakri Power Corporation to gain political mileage on the eve of the Lok Sabha poll. He demanded Mr Virbhadra Singh's immediate resignation from the Vidhan Sabha for allegedly showering undue benefits on members of his family at the cost of the state exchequer.

Addressing a press conference here today he said the claim of the former Chief Minister that the High Court had given him a clear chit was misleading and far-fetched. He said the reality was that the High Court had rejected the state's appeal against the grant of compensation to Mr Rajinder Singh, a brother of Mr Virbhadra Singh, for land on the ground that it was time barred. He said the previous Virbhadra Singh Government purposely did not file an appeal against the judgement of the District Judge allowing compensation for land vested in the government under the Land Ceiling Act with a view to showering state largesse on his brother.

Giving details of the case Mr Dutt said that the extent to which the government had been defrauded could be gauged from the fact that against the total of 158 bighas of land which remained with Mr Rajinder Singh following the enforcement of the Land Ceiling Act and the Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, the 270.99 bighas had already been acquired by the government and cases pertaining to another 230 bighas were pending at various stages.

Mr Rajinder Singh had only 64 bighas of land in Jhakri but against this about 500 bighas had been acquired by the government. The Land Ceiling Collector had pointed out that the compensation of land acquired in excess of 64 bighas should go to the government.

He said the NJPC filed an appeal against the enhanced compensation granted by the District Judge but it was not concerned with the fact that whether the amount should be paid to the government or Mr Rajinder Singh. It was the responsibility of the then Congress Government to challenge the decision granting compensation to Mr Rajinder Singh instead of the state but it did not do so for obvious reasons. The lapse cost the state exchequer Rs 6 crore.

Mr Dutt said that the Shukla Committee report had revealed startling irregularities in recruitment to government jobs. Mr Virbhadra Singh not only gave jobs on chits but also tried to politicise the administration as evident from the recruitment of medically unfit candidates, who did not even fulfil the minimum required physical standard, in the police.

He said senior Congress leaders had seen the writing on the wall and they were shying away from contesting elections. The party had been forced to replace candidates like Mr K.D. Sultanpuri, who won the Shimla seat six times in a row.

7 teachers get state awards
From Our Correspondent

UNA, Sept 5 — Ms V.S. Rama Devi, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, presented state awards to seven teachers today on the occasion of Teachers' Day state-level celebrations at the town hall here.

The awardees included Mr Nathi Mal, Principal, BJK Senior Secondary School, Paunta Sahib (Sirmaur), Mr Charanji Lal Sharma of Government Senior Secondary School, Lathiani (Una), Mr Santosh Singh of Government Senior Secondary School, Rajgarh (Sirmaur), Mr Dharam Singh Rangra of Government High School, Parol (Hamirpur) Mr Sunder Lal Chauhan of Government Senior Secondary School (Boys), Shimla, Mr Om Prakash Sharma of Government Primary School, Uperala Bhatto (Kangra), and Mr Surinder Mohan of Government Primary School, Kural (Kangra). Besides, three former national awardees, Mr Jai Mal Mukheta, Ms Shanti Devi and Mr Om Prakash were also honoured on the occasion.

Remembering former President of India, Dr Radha Krishnan, whose birth anniversary is observed as Teachers' Day, the Governor said he was a great statesman, and a spiritual personality. She congratulated the awardees.

The Governor stressed the need to provide educational avenues to the poor and extending education facilities to the remote areas of the state. She lauded the state government's Gurukul Awas Yojna whereby teachers living in remote areas will be provided accommodation. She also urged the state government to nominate the state-award winning teachers to the State Education Board.

Education Minister I.D. Dhiman and Vice-Chairman of the Vidhan Sabha Ram Dass Malangar also spoke on the occasion.

Campaign for Kangra seat
BJP aided ISI: Virbhadra
Tribune News Service

DHARAMSALA, Sept 5 — The former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today accused the BJP government of indirectly helping the ISI by importing huge quantities of sugar from Pakistani firms, actually a projection of the ISI.

Addressing a press conference at Kangra, from where he began his election campaign for the Kangra Lok Sabha seat, the Congress leader said the country had to "suffer a loss of Rs 900 crore due to this import as there was no shortage of sugar in the country". Even if the government had to import sugar under the OGL, "the least that they could do was to check the agency from which the supply was being made," he said. He alleged that by importing sugar from the firms the Indian Government was as good as providing money to the ISI for abetting terrorism in our country.

Mr Virbhadra Singh, said the issue of import of sugar from Pakistan was a serious matter, which needed to be probed throughly, after the elections. "In case the Congress is returned to power, we will set up an inquiry commission to took into the matter", he stated. He added that apart from the Army Welfare Fund, being a direct beneficiary from the import of sugar, the family and relatives of Mr Nawaz Sharif benefited, as they own half of the sugar mills in Pakistan.

Mr Virbhadra Singh, criticised the BJP, for politicising the Kargil issue and said that instead of accepting that it was a major security, intelligence and diplomatic failure, the BJP was projecting it as its achievement. He added that a government, which remained unaware of an intrusion in the country, had no right to claim that it was a victory for it.

The former CM lambasted the BJP for indulging in rumour mongering, regarding the possibility of a last minure change in the names of Congress candidates in Himachal. "While there is no truth in these rumours, it only goes on to reflect the mental state and frustration of the BJP in Himachal", he said. On the contrary the BJP is itself a divided house, which was clearly reflected by setting up of two parallel stages in Jwalamukhi, recently.

He further accused the BJP of rendering lip service for the cause of the OBC’s, constituting a considerable chunk of the electorate in the Kangra area. "For the BJP, the OBC issue is merely a political gimmick, whereas the Congress has always remained committed to their cause and gave them 18 per cent reservation", he claimed.

Mr Virbhadra Singh said it was for the first time in his 40-year political career, that he had witnessed such mud slinging and character assassination. "It is very painful to see the level to which the BJP has stooped in making personal remarks, and to me it is probably a reflection of the frustration in the BJP camp", he opined.

Commenting on the opinion polls being conducted by various agencies, he said they were manipulated projections and did not reflect the real mood of the electorate. He added that there was an electronic media hype in favour of the BJP, which amounted to a clear cut violation of the election Code of Conduct.

Mr Virbhadra Singh, later addressed a public meeting at Zananabad the native village of the Agricultrue Minister, Mr Vidyasagar. The Congress campaign picked up in Kangra today with Mr Virbhadra Singh’s rallies at different places.

Cong leader flays BJP
From Our Correspondent

HAMIRPUR, Sept 5 — Mr Ram Lal Thakur, an MLA and a Congress nominee for the Lok Sabha seat here have flayed BJP leaders for threatening Congress workers in various parts of the district with dire consequences if they work for him (Thakur) during the elections. The action of the BJP leaders was highly undemocratic and uncalled for, Mr Thakur said here today.

Mr Thakur, who is camping in the district these days in connection with his election campaign, said this during his visit to Nadaunta and Bamsan areas of the district, he was told by the workers that they wre not allowed to work freely and were being threatened by the BJP leaders and workers. He said the Congress would not succumb to such pressures and safeguard the interests of its workers. He added that the way BJP leader and workers were behaving proved that they had conceded defeat in Hamirpur Loak Sabha elections.

The Congress leader said BJP leaders were misusing the official machinery. He asked the Election Commission of India to take a note of it and ask its observers posted in Hamirpur constituency to instruct the BJP men not to adopt such tactics during elections.

He claimed that there was a wave in favour of the Congress in all parts of the districts of Hamirpur, Una, Bilaspur and Dehra Revenue subdivision of Kangra. He said the BJP had no issue during elections and that was why it was harping on the Vajpayee issue.

While addressing election rallies in various parts of the Bamsan and Nadaunta constituency today and yesterday, Mr Thakur gave a call to the people to reject the BJP.

He said further it was only the Congress which could deliver the goods to the people. The Congress had a great leader in Mrs Sonia Gandhi and she would definitely become the next Indian Prime Minister, he added.

Mr Thakur said the BJP was a party of industrialists and they should not believe it and its leaders. He asked the people not to be misled by their false propaganda and stand behind the Congress for their own welfare.

The rallies were also addressed by Mr Manjeet Singh Dogra and Mr Kuldip Singh Pathania, ex-MLA’s, and Mr Anil Verma, Press Secretary of the district Congress.

Malvika Pathania joins BJP
From Our Correspondent

NURPUR, Sept 5 — Ms Malvika Pathania, Chiarperson of the Himachal Pradesh Social Welfare Advisory Board and a close confidant of a former Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today left the Congress and joined the BJP at a well-attended poll meeting of the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, and the BJP candidate from the Kangra parliamentary constituency, Mr Shanta Kumar, at Jassur, near here.

Mr Dhumal, while welcoming Ms Pathania into the BJP fold, turned down her offer to quit as Chairperson of the advisory board.

Lashing out at the Congress, he said the Congress was in the habit of fighting elections to satisfy its hunger for power, but the poor people of the country were the real sufferers. He said Indians could not accept a person of foreign origin as Prime Minister.

Security geared up in Solan
From Our Correspondent

SOLAN, Sept 5 — The police, following a tip off by a central agency about a possible strike, in Himachal Pradesh, by mercenaries, on VIPs during poll campaigns has started beefing up security measures here.

According to a police source, four Pakistan deployed RDX runners, who were nabbed in Assam last week, had informed the interrogating agencies that they had been entrusted with the 'mission' of smuggling in the explosive into Himachal Pradesh and the north-eastern state.

While a team of officials was immediately sent to Assam to obtain further information, the police here decided to go in for intensive pre-poll security drills.

These security drills were conducted under the guidance of the Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Mr N.C. Joshi, at the Police Lines last week. Mr Joshi was formerly associated with the Special Protection Group.

Mr Joshi's visit was followed by a visit by Mr J.R. Gaur, Director, Forensic Sciences Laboratary. While Mr Joshi draw up plans for providing the requisite security cover to the visiting VIPs Mr Gaur familiarised the Solan police with the physical characteristics of RDX and the way to deal with it.

When contacted, the Solan police chief, Mr Rakesh Aggarwal, confirmed the visits of both Mr Joshi and Mr Gaur and also the fact that security drills were on in the district. He, however, said final plans would be made only after the receipt of tour itineraries of leaders of the main political parties who come to the state for campaigning.

Cong-Left pact unholy: Chandel
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 5 —Mr Suresh Chandel, president of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, criticised the Congress for entering into" unholy and unprincipled" alliances to grab power.

In a statement here today, he said the Congress had forged poll alliances with all and sundry and there was nothing in common between these parties except the hunger for power.

He expressed surprise that while in states like Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu the Congress had entered into electoral alliance with the Left parties it was fighting bitter electoral battles against these very parties elsewhere in the country.

Mr Chandel said the Congress and the Left parties should explain under what circumstances and for what reasons they were supporting each other in one state and opposing in others.

The BJP president said the Left parties had all along been opposing the Congress on various counts, including accusing it of being a corrupt organisation, and the Congress too had been at loggerheads with these parties. He said they must tell the people at large whether the Left parties should make it clear if the Congress, which till the other day they were branding as currupt, had been purified.

He said unless the Congress and the Left parties took the people into confidence about the reasons for the recent spark of political infatuation between themselves this unholy alliance would be deemed as a marriage of convenience and an attempt to grab political power by hook or crook.

Police shielding accused: Khachi
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 5 — Mr J.B.L. Kachi, former Minister for Public Works and a senior Congress leader, has demanded the arrest of activists of the BJP and the HVC allegedly assaulted the Principal of the senior secondary school at Baragaon in Kumarsain yesterday.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Kachi alleged the police, which was shielding the accused persons, had registered a case under bailable Sections of the IPC like Sections 147, 149 and 352 instead of Sections 452 and 506 apparently to play down their criminal act. He said an FIR was lodged only after the local people and the students staged a dharna and blocked traffic at Kingal.

However, the police did not take cognisance of the criminal trespass by the activists who barged on the school premises and mercilessly beat up Principal Triveni Bhardwaj, who expressed his inability to vacate the rooms in possession of the school for starting a private institution without the permission of the Education Department.

Mr Khachi said it was not an isolated incident. He alleged of late leaders and workers of the ruling combine had been indulging in such acts to terrorise officials. He urged the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal to restrain his "unbridled cadres" who were blatantly interfering in the work of the administration.

He demanded a public apology from the accused to the Principal and teachers of the institution. He said they should be booked for criminal trespass.

A case has been registered against Amin Chand, Sandeepany, Sanjeev Kumar, Amin Chand, Deena Nath, K. Pal, Heeramani and S.S. Bharati. A police spokesman said more IPC Sections would be added if warranted after investigation.

Another bus victim identified
From Our Correspondent

BILASPUR, Sept 5 — Another victim of the bus mishap which occurred close to Gambhrolla bridge near here yesterday, in which nine persons were killed, has been identified as Onkar Singh of Kothi village in Bilaspur Sadar. One body is still to be identified.

Meanwhile, several injured passengers complained that the bus driver, who was himself injured in the mishap, was driving the bus at top speed and all requests by passengers and the conductor to slow down were ignored. Some passengers demanded strict action and the registration of a case against the driver.

SEWA in service of needy
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 5 — SEWA (Social Education and Welfare Association), Southall, a London-based charitable trust, is organising a series of eye camps in the region to provide intraocular lenses to needy patients free of cost.

While two such camps, being organised in collaboration with Sewa Bharati, have already been held at Kumarsain and Dhami, the third began here today. Mr Om Prakash Sharma, chief patron of the trust, who was here in connection with camps, said the trust would provide funds for providing intraocular lenses to 200 patients. Besides other eye ailments like cataract would also be treated at the camps.

He said the trust, set up in 1984 was promoting Indian cultural and religious values among the young non-resident Indians in England.

The trust had supplied dialysis units to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi and Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana. It had also helped patients requiring kidney transplants.

Computer centre inaugurated
From Our Correspondent

BILASPUR, Sept 5 — Chief Justice Doraiswamy Raju of the HP High Court inaugurated NIC Computer Centre at judicial complex here yesterday. He said with the inauguration of the centre the local judicial complex here had been connected with judicial complexes in 10 districts in the state and also with the HP High Court in Shimla. He said the centre would help in the faster administration and delivery of justice.

The District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Chauhan, said Rs 1.85 lakh had been spent on the centre. Mr Justice Surinder Swaroop and Mr Justice R.L. Khurana, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ramesh Kapil, the SP, Mr Anurag Garg, National Bar Council member Balbir Singh Chandel and a number of advocates and officers were present on the occasion.

CITU ‘protest day’ on Sept 16
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Sept 5 — The state unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has decided to observe September 16 as "protest day" to highlight police repression and denial of democratic rights to workers in the Nathpa-Jhakri project.

The CITU state committee, which met here today, decided to organise rallies and demonstration at the district and tehsil levels all over the state on this day. It charged the administration with implicating senior trade union leaders in false cases and misusing the police force to harass workers.

It demanded immediate transfer of the Labour Commissioner who, it alleged, was hand in glove with the management of the Nathpa-Jakhri joint venture company and working against the interest of workers. The Labour Department had failed to implement the agreement arrived at between the workers and the management under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner on August 10.

It decided to launch a campaign to expose the 'anti-worker' face of the BJP Government. It would distribute 50,000 phamphlets among workers and work to ensure the defeat of the BJP in the Lok Sabha poll.