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Battle of rallies: Hooda plays for Olympic gold, Chautala for khaps
Turning Haryana Day into a show of strength, the Congress and INLD organised mammoth rallies. While Hooda basked in CWG medal glory, Chautala targeted his traditional vote bank.

Rs 2 cr for Olympic gold: Hooda
Manish Sirhindi and BS Malik
Tribune News Service

Rai (Sonepat), November 1
Haryana today honoured its Commonwealth Games medallists at an impressive and well-attended ceremony at Motilal Nehru School of Sports here. The function, held on Haryana Diwas, saw an enthusiastic Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announcing a slew of measures to aggressively promote sports culture in the state.

He announced Rs 2 crore for anyone winning a gold medal at the Olympics while emphasising that the function was to honour players and “I want to stick to that ”. At the same time, he warned his rivals that he had been a player and till date was ready to play “games” (presumably political).

Taking pride in the achievements of the state players, the Chief Minister said the grit shown by the players and the logistic support offered to them by the state had resulted in their extraordinary performance.

He announced Rs 51 lakh for villages of CWG gold medallists, Rs 31 lakh for villages of silver medallists and Rs 21 lakh for those of bronze medallists. He also announced Rs 11 lakh for villages of all participating players.

Encouraging the players to perform even better at the Olympics, Hooda said his government would give a cash reward of Rs 2 crore to any player winning the gold, Rs 1 crore for winning the silver and Rs 50 lakh for bronze. For the forthcoming ASIAD, the state would give Rs 25 lakh each to those winning the gold, Rs 15 lakh for winners of silver and Rs 10 lakh for bronze.

Chautala for change in marriage Act
Sunit Dhawan /TNS

Gurgaon, November 1
Former Haryana Chief Minister and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala today announced that on coming to power, the INLD would purchase wheat from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,400 per quintal.

“At the same time, we will provide wheat at Rs 3 per kg to the poor,” he declared while addressing a mammoth gathering at the Haryana Samman Diwas Rally here.

He also promised Rs 300 per quintal MSP for sugarcane and aquisition of farmers’ land at the market rate.

At the rally, organised to observe the 97th birth anniversary of Chaudhary Devi Lal, Chautala said the INLD would give due representation to SCs, Backward Classes, women and the Tapriwas in the allotment of ticket during the next elections.

His party, if voted to power, would approve an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act to ban same-gotra marriages.

The former CM said he would give Rs 1 crore to players winning the gold, Rs 50 lakh winning the silver and Rs 25 lakh the bronze at international events like the Olympics.

Chautala described the Hooda government as anti-farmers and pro-builders. Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, former UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav and former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu also addressed the gathering.

Sukhbir Badal spoke in Punjabi. Naidu started his address in Hindi, but switched over to English.

The leaders paid tributes to the late Deputy PM, describing him as a true leader of the masses. Mulayam even exhorted Chautala to play a pro-active role in national politics and revive efforts for the formation of a third front.