Haryana Diary: Health Minister’s ‘official’ visit to Rajasthan

Hisar: The visit of Health Minister Dr Kamal Gupta to Hanumangarh town of Rajasthan on Saturday kicked up another storm as the minister’s tour programme showed that he would hear the public grievances in the Karni Dharamshala in Hanumangarh and would also attend a rasam pagri. The copies of the official tour programme were also marked for the DGP, Haryana, ADGP CID and SPs of Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts for a police escort on the way. However, Congress leader Manoj Rathi questioned whether the minister was going there to redress public grievances or attend a condolence meeting in Rajasthan. “What is the rationale behind a Haryana minister listening to the public grievances in Rajasthan? Apparently, the tour programme was designed to show it as an official tour so that the minister could participate in a private function in an official vehicle,” he alleged. Gupta had also been in controversy over his demand of changing the name of Hisar to ‘Agrodhak’ and also when he pushed aside a local social activist accusing him of being his critic.

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Sheep, goats in Cong’s padyatra

Yamunanagar: These days, people of the Gadariya Pal community are a worried lot due to the increasing number of cases of theft of their sheep and goats in the district. With the local administration failing to find any solution to their problem, a few community members, along with their sheep and goats, reached the ‘padyatra’ programme held by the Congress party in Yamunanagar Assembly segment recently. Rohtak Congress MP Deepender Hooda and Ambala MP Varun Chaudhary were the chief guests at the padyatra programme. Led by community leader Narsingh Pal, they handed over one goat each to Deepender and Varun, telling them that most of the people in their community were poor and the livestock was the main source of their livelihood. With hope in their eyes, they requested them to protect their sheep and goats from thieves.

CM’s remark brings hope to Grover supporters

Rohtak: The recent visit of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to Rohtak gave some relief to the supporters of former minister Manish Grover as Saini addressed him as ‘Bhavi Mantri’ while speaking to a gathering. After the CM’s remark, the supporters are fully confident that Grover will get the party ticket for the upcoming Assembly polls. Grover, a close aide to former CM Manohar Lal Khattar, lost the previous Assembly polls to Congress nominee Bharat Bhushan Batra, hence, some other local BJP leaders too are vying for the party ticket from Rohtak this time.

Last-row seat in party event irks AAP leader

Kurukshetra: Allotting last-row seat to the Kurukshetra district chief of the Aam Aadmi Party and workers in the party’s event held in Panchkula on Saturday, has not gone well with district chief Vishal Khubber, and he announced to quit his post. Expressing displeasure through a late night social media post, Vishal Khubber wrote that he had been associated with AAP since 2012. He announced his resignation from all party posts because ‘he was not getting due respect’ but would continue working as a party worker. In the party’s programme, he was treated as being a part of the crowd and offered a seat in the last row. Khubber had also announced to hold a press conference on Sunday to disclose the activities of the party, however, later he went incommunicado.

No-confidence motion against ZP head

Kaithal: The no-confidence motion against Zila Parishad chairperson Deepak Malik, also known as Deep Malik, on Friday has increased the political temperature in Kaithal. Malik was elected as chairperson with the support of JJP, but according to sources, after the alliance broke up between BJP and JJP, some BJP leaders had started a campaign against Malik. The no-confidence motion came after 15 councillors submitted affidavits on July 12 to Deputy Commissioner Prashant Panwar asserting their majority support for the no-confidence motion. Out of the 21-member council, 17 councillors attended the meeting and cast their votes. However, on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the result was not declared, and the ballot papers were sealed and stored in the treasury. This voting has kept the future of the chairperson in limbo.

Road divider turns into political issue

Panipat: The divider on the under-construction road in Model Town has become a political issue here. Now, BJP MLA Pramod Vij and former BJP councillor Lokesh Nagroo have come face-to-face over it. Two roads in the posh Model Town are the dream roads for the MLA and he got special approval for these roads from former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and tenders have also been allotted for the construction of these two roads. The residents welcomed the widening of the roads, but they opposed the construction of dividers between the roads as they said the roads would be congested badly. The people took up the issue with former councillor Lokesh Nagroo and he got the work stopped. The issue has gone viral on social media. Whether the divider will be constructed or not, only time will tell.