H A R Y A N A
INLD finds Centre, state govt vindictive
Fatehabad, May 24
The Indian National Lok Dal today organised a demonstration against the alleged vindictive attitude of the UPA government at the Centre and the Congress government in Haryana against the INLD and its leaders.
Suspension of Haryana DGP sought
Chandigarh, May 24
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association today demanded the suspension of the DGP, Haryana, Mr Kanwar Nirmal Singh, for having allegedly issued threats to a lawyer, Mr Madan Dev.
Waqf Board to be restructured
The Haryana Government has initiated the process of restructuring the state Waqf Board.
Tenant's eviction snowballs into major row
The incident of forcible eviction of a tenant from a shop belonging to Aggarwal Dharamshala at Rattia town in this district has snowballed into a big controversy.
DSP complains to Bar Council
Mr Rajesh Duggal, DSP of Haryana DGP's Flying Squad, has complained to the Punjab and Haryana Bar Council against an advocate, Mr Madan Dev, who had alleged that the DGP, Mr Nirmal Singh, had threatened him with dire consequences.
Dental College students block highway
Yamunanagar, May 24
Students of DAV Dental College blocked National Highway 73 here this evening as part of their ongoing agitation against reservations for the OBCs in institution of higher education. To lend their support to the agitation all the private hospitals and clinics numbering more than 100 in the district would remain closed tomorrow. The bandh call has been given by the local branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Zila Vikas Manch formed
Kurukshetra, May 24
Keeping in view the development works carried out by the late Bansi Lal in this district, Chaudhary Bansi Lal Memorial Zila Vikas Manch has been constituted here.
DAV student tops Class XII in Ambala
Ambala, May 24
Ravi Dua, a student of DAV Public School, Ambala City, has topped in the non-medical group in the district in plus two exam of the CBSE.
Stories from Haryana towns falling in the National Capital Region are put in
Delhi & neighbourhood.
We did not own hotel when sex racket was unearthed: Ajay
INLD men march in protest
Rajiv Gandhi a votary of clean politics: Hooda
Parties misguiding public on SYL canal: Hooda
Ex-Dean quits MDU Executive Council
Electoral rolls' revision delays admn reshuffle
Krishan Moorti, Nripender Singh join BJP
Govt directed to fill all posts through regular recruitment
Medical College Director manhandles girl student
Haryana to review pace of development
Haryana invites bids for thermal plant
Karora is disability panel chief
Speaker's visit rescheduled
Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, national secretary-general of the party and member of the Rajya Sabha, led the agitating party workers.
Mr Ashok Arora, state president of the party, Mr Sampat Singh, a former minister, INLD MLAs Gian Chand Odh and Sushil Indora, the district president and the women wing president, Mr Nishan Singh and Ms Krishana Poonia, respectively, former MLA Swatantar Bala Chaudhary were among those present on the occasion.
Addressing a rally of the party workers at the local Jat Dharamshala, Mr Ajay Singh alleged that INLD workers and party leaders were being targeted ever since the Congress government, led by Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, came to power in the state. He alleged that the UPA government at the Centre was behind the "vindictive activities" unleashed by the state government.
He said it was an old habit of the Congress to try to defame leaders of mass backing, as the party could not muster the courage to marginalise these leaders politically. He said Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Ms J. Jayalaithaa were some such leaders who had been targeted by the Congress in the past.
He said Mr Om Prakash Chautala and his party, the INLD, were the latest target of the Congress campaign. He said the Congress had targeted Mr Chautala as he was trying to cobble together a third front of anti-Congress and anti-BJP parties in view of the next parliamentary elections.
The INLD MP warned the Congress that the party would not tolerate such activities and would "return the excesses with interest" to the Congress leaders if it came to power. He said his party had also decided to expose Congress leaders before the people who had been crying hoarse against their party.
The party later staged a protest march towards the Mini-Secretariat, where the party gave a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner to be forwarded to the Governor.
The party gave examples of cases registered against Mr Abhey Singh Chautala and Mr Vinod Arora at Dabwali, the alleged undemocratic possession of Olympic Bhavan by the state government with police might and the recent raids on the premises of Mr Chautala and his partymen. The party also decried the closure of Bhuna Cooperative Sugar Mills and removal of foundation stones laid by the erstwhile Chautala government by the present government.
Later, addressing mediapersons at the residence of a party leader, Ms Krishana Poonia, Mr Ajay Singh said the Congress government had not been able to live up to the expectations of the people and had been working against the promises it had made to the people.
Our High Court Correspondent
This demand was made at a meeting of the general house of the bar association here.
The association also decided to send letters to the Governor and Chief Minister of Haryana, seeking independent inquiry into the entire affair.
"We are going to seek the suspension and removal of the DGP till the inquiry is completed," said Mr Amandeep Singh, Secretary, Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association.
The general house also condemned the alleged high-handedness of the DGP.
In his complaint to the association, Mr Madan Dev, who is a practising lawyer at the High Court, had stated that the tenant at his Sector 8, Panchkula house left with all his belongings in the dead of the night on April 21. Since the tenant, Mr Hitesh Sharma, had left without clearing his dues, Mr Madan Dev starting searching for him. But, when he could not find about his whereabouts, he went to Police Post, Sector 17, Panchkula on May 17 to bring the matter to the notice of the police.
The complaint further says that on the request of a Haryana Police DSP, Mr Madan Dev took back his complaint as he was told that the DGP, who allegedly had good relations with the tenant's family, would get his dues paid.
On May 18, the lawyer along with another lawyer accompanied the DSP to the Haryana Police headquarters at Panchkula to meet the DGP. There, the complaint alleges, the DGP started questioning the claims of the lawyer and finally threatened him of dire consequences if he did not forget the entire issue.
However, DGP Kanwar Nirmal Singh had yesterday denied the occurrence of any such incident.
Mr Hamid Hussain is at present the Chairman of the board. He was an INLD member of the last Assembly representing the Nuh constituency. He was chosen for the post by the previous INLD regime. Evidently, the Congress, which is in power in Haryana now, will like to replace Mr Hussain by someone having ties with the present ruling dispensation.
Since Mr Hussain was made the Chairman as an interim arrangement, the government has started the process of holding the election to the post so that there is no question about the procedure followed for the incumbent Chairman's removal. Mr Hussain was originally nominated a member of the board and appointed the Chairman on the condition that he would remain in the post for five years or till the time a new Chairman was elected.
The state government has now started the process of constituting the electorate for electing the new Chairman. Seven categories of persons are eligible for becoming members of the board. One member is then elected the Chairman by the rest. The members, too, will have to be elected by others belonging to the category of the respective aspirants.
The seven categories of members are Muslim MPs from the state, Muslim MLAs, Muslim members of the Bar Council, mutawallis (one who looks after Waqf property and contributes at least Rs 1 lakh annually collected from the property to the board), representatives of eminent Muslim organisations, Muslim theologians and an officer of the state government not below the rank of Deputy Secretary.
Incidentally, there is no Muslim MP from Haryana nor is there any Muslim member from the state in the joint Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana. Eligible mutawallis also are not found in the state any more with Mr M.A.K. Pataudi's family shifting its base to Delhi and Bhopal.
In view of the shortage of these three categories of members, the government may also need to nominate some members to meet the requirements of constituting an electorate college for electing the new Chairman of the board.
With tension mounting in the town, the district administration has promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the town and arrested nine persons in this connection. Many more arrests are expected as the police has registered cases against both the warring parties. Extra police force has been deployed in the town in view of the prevailing tension.
Mr Krishan Kumar, a shopkeeper, eked his living through running a confectionery shop in the shops of Aggarwal Dharamshala in the town. On Sunday, some prominent persons belonging to the Aggarwal community, who also manage the affairs of the dharamshala, allegedly threw away the belongings of the shopkeeper out of the shop. The shopkeeper and the management of the dharamshala had a dispute over the tenancy of the shop and the matter was sub judice. The management of the dharamshala had alleged that the shopkeeper had been indulging in immoral activities.
Things worsened on Monday when leaders of the Punjabi community alleged that the shopkeeper had been forcibly evicted only because he did not belong to Aggarwal community. The incident was followed by incidents of stone throwing and clashes between the two warring groups. The police and the administration tried to intervene but to no avail.
Alleging partisan role of the officers, members of the Aggarwal community demanded transfer of the SDM, Mr H. C. Bhatia, and the DSP, Mr Harish Dutta.
On a complaint of the shopkeeper, the police booked and arrested Mr Sat Pal Jindal, president of the Aggarwal Sabha, Rattia, Mr Ramesh Garg, Mr Suresh Jindal, Mr Chiman Garg, Mr Roop Chand, a Municipal Councillor, Mr Rishikesh Garg, president of the Beopar Mandal, Mr Sat Pal Karandiwala and Mr Updesh Goyal under Sections 323, 420, 427, 452, 148 and 149 of the IPC.
They were produced before the Judicial Magistrate, Mr Ajay Aggarwal yesterday, who remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days.
The police has also booked certain leaders of the Punjabi community under Sections 323, 148, 149, 292, 294 and 295 of the IPC. No arrest has been made so far in this regard.
A former Chief Medical Officer, Dr Gyanendra Sharma, has also complained to the Bar Council against Mr Dev.
In his complaint, which has also been sent to the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, Mr Duggal alleged that Mr Dev had been claiming to be a class fellow of Mr Nirmal Singh in law and that he was a close friend of Mr Nirmal Singh. Interestingly, Mr Nirmal Singh never studied law.
He said on May 16 around 11 a.m., Mr Dev met ASI Kuldeep Singh, in charge Sector 7 police post in Panchkula and told him that he was a close friend of Mr Nirmal Singh. He told the ASI that his tenant, Mr Hitesh Sharma, had vacated his house(316, Sector 8, Panchkula) without paying rent and other dues. The ASI, under the impression that Mr Dev was a close friend of the DGP, rang up the wife of Mr R.N. Sharma, a relative of Hitesh, to clear the dues of Mr Dev. Mr Sharma informed the DGP about the ASI's call the same day.
Mr Duggal said the DGP deputed him to inquire into the matter and find out how Mr Dev was threatening the people by claiming himself to be a close friend of Mr Nirmal Singh. The DSP claimed that when he talked to Mr Dev on the phone on May 16, he told him (Mr Duggal) that he was a class fellow of Mr Nirmal Singh in law. Mr Duggal said that Mr Dev also told him that he would settle the issue with Hitesh at his own level because it was a civil matter.
Mr Duggal claimed that Mr Dev confessed that he used the name of Mr Nirmal Singh as he had to collect rent and electricity dues from Hitesh.
When Mr Dev met the DGP, Mr Duggal said, the latter advised the former not to misuse his name in future otherwise he would have to face legal consequences. In his complaint, Dr Gyanendra Sharma has also accused Mr Dev of "professional mis-conduct" and threatening him and his wife on the phone. Dr Sharma is also a relative of Hitesh, the tenant with whom Mr Dev has a dispute.
The Indian Dental Association has also lent its support to the bandh.
Students of the dental college assembled at Nehru Park here and marched towards the national highway. Half of the agitating students formed a human chain and the rest sat on the road to block movement of traffic. The traffic movement on the road remained suspended for about one hour. The students raised slogans against HRD Minister Arjun Singh and urged the general public to join the protest. Later the police, led by DSP Sajjan Singh, counselled the students to remove the blockade.
All the private hospitals and clinics in the district would remain closed tomorrow. However, the emergency services have been kept out of the bandh. Dr Vimal Miglani, president, IMA-Yamunanagar, said the IMA was opposing the quota in higher education and thus it had been decided to keep the private hospitals closed. The Yamunanagar Chemists Association has also decided to keep drug stores closed.
Informing this, in a signed statement released to mediapersons here yesterday, manch general secretary, Jogi Ram Ghrarsi said the late Bansi Lal had contributed a lot to the development of Kurukshetra as a district. Kurukshetra as a district was carved out his regime as Chief Minister.
Mr Grarsi said Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) former general secretary Jitender Singh 'Khurdban' and District Congress Committee (DCC) former president Amar Singh would be the patrons of the Manch while DCC president Pawan Garg (Ladwa) would be president and HVP former district president Gurcharan Singh 'Ratgal' the vice-president.
The cashier of the manch would be declared at the next meeting. This non-political manch had been formed for the development of this district and to fulfill the dreams of the late Bansi Lal regarding upliftment of this district, Mr Ghrarsi added.
Our Correspondence
According to the Principal of the school, Ms Reena Nagrath, Ravi secured, 92.8 per cent marks in aggregate and 100 per cent marks in mathematics.
Similarly, Mehak Garg secured 91.8 per cent, Loveleen and Tanvi got 92 per cent marks in the commerce stream. In the medical group, Vonita Chawla achieved 91 per cent marks.
Ms Nagrath said 284 student had appeared in the examination in which six students got 90 per cent marks, 18 per cent got 85 per cent and 30 per cent students secured more than 80 per cent marks. Prateek Jain of Convent of Jesus and Mary, cantonment, scored 92.8 per cent marks in commerce.
Dr Balbir Singh Karora, an ayurvedic doctor from Kaithal district, has been appointed Commissioner of the Disability Commission of Haryana.
Dr Karora, a physically challenged person, has substantial experience in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disability. — TNS
The Haryana Assembly Speaker, Dr Raghuvir Singh Kadiyan, has rescheduled his visit to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in view of the meeting of the Delimitation Commission on May 29 and 30, according to a press note issued here today. — TNS