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“Ye Modi kya kya karwayega”: Haryana minister on PM Modi’s Clean India Mission

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Krishan Kumar Bedi

Chandigarh: In an embarrassment to ruling BJP in Haryana, state Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi was caught on tape while allegedly mocking the Prime Minister’s pet ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign, prompting the opposition to take a swipe at the state government over “lack of seriousness”.

“Don’t know what all Modi will make us do,” Bedi, who is Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, is purportedly heard saying in TV footage as he held a broom in his hand while cleaning a ground in Fatehabad.

After the Minister’s remarks, other officials present at the spot with him burst into laughter. When Bedi noticed that his comments may have been captured by media present at the spot, he asked them, “I hope you are not recording it. Don’t make me land in any trouble”.

The video has since gone viral on the social media.

Bedi along with senior officials of the Fatehabad district administration was cleaning the ground at Panchayat Bhawan in Haryana’s Fatehabad on Sunday on the conclusion of a sanitation campaign there.

When reporters later sought clarification from Bedi about his remarks, the Minister, who was attending another function in Kaithal, said: “We are committed to the Swachh Bharat campaign. We want that entire Haryana should not only be clean, but healthy too”.

“Someone had brought to my notice that some officials are not taking the campaign seriously. I was telling the officials that some people are trying to publicise the fact that they (officials) are being forced to pick up the broom because of (PM) Modi.”

“I was bringing this fact to their notice that such an impression should not go out (that officials were not willingly picking up the broom to clean). Now, if someone has done some (video) recording and linked with my comment in this manner, then it is not right. I was only apprising the officials and the whole issue was in that context only and not anything else”.

Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar said BJP ministers “are not keen on real service and tackling real issues, but they just believe in tokenism”.

State’s main opposition INLD’s senior leader Abhay Chautala said: “This shows how serious the government and its ministers are about campaigns launched by (PM) Modi”.

The incident has caused embarrassment to the Manohar Lal Khattar Government in Haryana, which will complete one year in office this month.

However, this is not the first time when Khattar’s Ministers have courted controversy. In January this year, Bedi was in the midst of another controversy when Kurukshetra’s Civil Surgeon Vandana Bhatia had complained that Bedi had allegedly misbehaved with her over telephone, a charge which had been trashed by the Minister then.

Congress leader Ashok Tanwar said the Minister’s remarks also show “that people feel suffocated in the BJP”.

“There is authoritarian attitude of top leadership of the BJP because of which sentiments in this manner are coming out in public,” he said.

Abhay Chautala, who is Leader of Opposition, said before polls, BJP made tall promises to the people and when they allegedly failed to deliver, their Ministers make such statements to divert the attention of the people.

Earlier this year, Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma had landed stoked a controversy by allegedly using objectionable language against Jawaharlal Nehru. Later on, the senior Minister had apologised, saying he did not mean to be disrespectful or to hurt anyone’s sentiments.

Haryana’s Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar had also drawn flak for his remarks on farmers committing suicide.

(Agencies)

Policy of regression: Haryana bans meat on Jain festival day

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chicken kabab

Chandigarh: It appears that all the BJP ruled states are joining the meat ban wagon. Haryana is the fifth in line to do so. In its order, the state’s urban local bodies department ordered all slaughter houses to be closed from September 11 to September 19 in view of the Jain festival of fasting, Paryushan. The minister heading the department interestingly, belongs to the Jain community.

On Friday, Chattisgarh banned the slaughter and sale of meat till September 17. A meat ban has also been enforced in Rajasthan and Gujarat, both ruled by the BJP.The Rajasthan government has prohibited the sale of meat and fish on September 17, 18 and 27 on account of various festivals, including that of the Jains. The ban has been enforced since 2008 in the state, both by the Ashok Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje governments, but this year, it has been extended by one day, which has angered some groups. In Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Police Commissioner Shivanand Jha has ordered a ban on the slaughter of cattle like cows and goats for a week during the Jain fasting period. The state enforces the ban every year.

The Haryana announcement came on a day when a similar ban in Mumbai was challenged by mutton traders and opposed by many political parties including the ruling BJP’s ally Shiv Sena. Mumbai’s civic body has, in the wake of the protest, cut short the ban from four to two days.

The Bombay High Court said the ban was “regressive”. “We understand the sentiment part but purchase is an independent choice,” said the judges.

“It is alright to have a two-day ban, but anything beyond that is unacceptable. It affects people’s livelihood… if the ban is beyond two days, people should be compensated for loss of livelihood,” said Salim Engineer, a member of the Forum of Democracy and Communal Harmony.

(Agencies)

Press Statement from civil society organisations to communal violence affected Atali village, Ballabhgarh, Haryana

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Faridabad-Riots

Visit of civil society organizations at Atali village, Ballabhgarh, Haryana, today (5th June 2015)

Today a team consisting of members of PUCL, NAPM, Khudai Khidmatgar and Socialist Party visited the Atali village in Ballabhgarh District (Haryana) led by Justice Rajinder Sachar (Retd). Team met the Muslim residents who were attacked on 25th May, 2015, whose houses were burnt, belongings looted or destroyed and who had to flee from the village to save their lives and had taken shelter in a police station at Ballabhgarh till 3rd June. The team was happy to see that elders of the majority community had approached them and assured them of their co-operation in protecting them and support in building the ‘mosque’ and on their assurance, as well assurance of the administration, they have returned to the village from 3rd June, 2015. However since their houses were burnt and their belongings totally destroyed or looted by the anti-social elements, they have to rebuild their lives from scratch. The interim compensation at the rate of Rs.5000/- per family given to the victims by the administration is totally insufficient.

Besides the Muslim residents, the team members met SDM Dr. Priyanka Soni, some police officials including two ACPs who were present at the spot as well as members of the majority community of the village. Though the administration and the elders of the majority community asserted that they are committed to the building of the mosque, still there are some mischievous elements who, inspite of the court verdict against them and inspite of the compromise, seem to be unsatisfied and have again gone to the court of CJM, Faridabad, in appeal claiming that the land of the mosque belongs to the Panchayat and got a notice issued to the Mosque committee as well as the Panchayat. Matter is fixed tomorrow for hearing. However the team is surprised to note that though there are more than eight temples, there is no properly constructed mosque in the village and the Muslim residents have been offering their prayers in a make-shift tinshed for more than a century.

The team urges upon the Haryana Govt. that (i) the task of building the mosque must be given top priority and urgency, and proper protection be given to the mosque committee for this purpose; (ii) Adequate compensation be given to the victims of violence so that they are able to rehabilitate themselves in a dignified manner; (iii) that those responsible for violence should be immediately arrested and prosecuted and (iv) that due protection be given to the Muslim families and their properties.

The team members were Justice Rajinder Sachar, N.D.Pancholi, Prof. V.K.Tripathi, Vimal Bhai, Faisal Khan, Rizwan Ahmad, Farah Sakib and Abdul Malik.

[released by] N.D.Pancholi, President, PUCL (Delhi)

Haryana: 15 houses burnt, 5 injured due to communal clash in Faridabad

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Faridabad-Riots

Faridabad: At least five persons were injured and around 15 houses gutted after a clash erupted between two communities over construction of a religious structure in Atali village in Faridabad, following which the district administration has beefed up security.

At least five persons were injured and about 15 houses burnt on Tuesday night when people from the two communities clashed over construction of the religious structure adjacent to the other community’s religious site, SHO In-charge Inspector Preetpal said.

The trouble began on Tuesday when the roof of the religious structure was being laid, he said.

A group of people from the other community started pelting stones and turned violent with equal retaliation from the other side, he said.

The group poured kerosene on the houses of those belonging to the community and set them on fire. The people fled from their houses, he said.

Section 144 was imposed in the village, he said, adding that twenty people have been booked under various sections of the IPC and Arms Act.

The police are on a strict vigil to avoid any untoward situation, the inspector said.

The SHO of Police Station Chainsa has been suspended for not handling the situation well.

Police force from six nearby districts was called to control the situation, an official said, adding that flag march was also conducted by the police.

Haryana Commissioner of Police Subhash Yadav, Sub Divisional Magistrate Priyanka Soni, DCP Bhupinder Singh, and other senior police and administration officials visited the village to review the situation, an official said.

Local MLA Moolchand Sharma said a meeting was organised in the SDM’s office today in which people from both the communities participated and the matter was resolved.

The government will compensate those affected and action will be taken against the accused, the MLA added.

(PTI)

Farmers who commit suicide are cowards, says BJP leader

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OP Dhankar

Chandigarh: Haryana Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar has stoked a controversy with insensitive remarks that farmers who commit suicide are “cowards” and “criminals”, drawing severe flak from the Opposition with Rahul Gandhi raking it up in Parliament today.

“Committing suicide is a crime, according to Indian law. Any person who commits suicide escapes from his responsibilities and leaves the burden on his wife and innocent children and such people are cowards,” Dhankar, who earlier headed the BJP’s Kisan Cell, said yesterday.

Asked about compensation to kin of farmers who committed suicide, the Minister said,

“An institution like government cannot stand behind cowards (those committing suicides) and cannot be with a criminal.”

The Congress slammed the Minister’s “insensitive” remarks and demanded that he be sacked. The issue also echoed in Parliament with Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi citing it to attack the ruling BJP.

“Your minister in Haryana now says that farmers who commit suicide are cowards. You did not help them when their crops were affected by hailstorm, the farmers bore it. You ended their bonus, they bore it. You did not give them fertilisers, they were lathicharged, but they bore it and now their produce is lying in the markets,” Gandhi said in Lok Sabha.

Attacking Manohar Lal Khattar government, Haryana Congress President Ashok Tanwar said,   “This shows the insensitive mindset of the BJP Government towards the farmers. Will the Khattar government wake up from its deep slumber or will it wait till more farmers end their lives.”

Despite the uproar, Dhankar today defended his remarks saying the the issue of farmer suicides was “hype” and “motivated”.

He also referred to the alleged suicide by a farmer Gajendra Singh at an AAP rally in Delhi.

Slamming the minister’s remarks, Tanwar said “a farmer is not coward, but those who are sitting in the government and escape from responsibility are the biggest cowards.”

He also said that “a farmer, who feeds the nation and whose children guard our borders, is brave”.

“We demand that either he should resign or he should be sacked by the Chief Minister,” the Congress leader said.

However, Dhankar today said the state government is doing its best to help the farmers and remained unrepentant about his remarks.

“I stand by my previous statement,” the Minister said.

“Drama is taking place ‘suicide, suicide’. I am doing my best to help the farmers…. I have been working with farmers since last 10 years. There are (crop) failures but committing suicide is not a solution.

“Facilities should be there so that they can restart from zero. We are with the farmers…. A drama happened in Delhi. Everyone saw it. That should not happen,” he said.

Referring to the Delhi incident, Dhankar yesterday told reporters, “One party termed it as motivated murder… it is unfortunate that a farmer had taken such a step in the presence of no less than a person than the Chief Minister himself”.

He also added, “People of Haryana are strong, they do not leave burden on their wives and innocent children, they themselves face the challenges. They are brave soldiers. In everyone’s life there are difficulties and one has to face them and move on.”

The Haryana Minister’s comments came on queries related to incidents of farmers allegedly committing suicide because of heavy crop damage and if the government was contemplating to give any compensation to their kin.

“This is not an issue to be assessed. Society does not stand with cowards, fugitives…after all who does not face difficulties in one’s life, but one has to face it strongly,” he said.

Earlier yesterday, when asked about the issue, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had said that it was very difficult to find out the actual reasons behind such incidents of suicide.

“It is always painful if somebody dies. It is difficult to know reasons for he takes his life which may be because of old debt, poor financial condition,” Khattar had said.

(PTI)

Haryana govt to give Cabinet Minister status to Ramdev

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Baba Ramdev

Chandigarh: The Haryana government today decided to give “status equivalent to Cabinet Minister” to Ramdev, who has been appointed as the state’s brand ambassador to promote yoga and ayurveda.

“Ramdev, Brand Ambassador for promotion of yoga and ayurveda in Haryana, will be given status equivalent to Cabinet Minister,” Haryana’s Health and Sports Minister, Anil Vij tweeted today.

Vij had earlier said a herbal forest would be developed in the state where plants of thousands of species of ayurvedic herbs would be grown under the supervision of Ramdev.

The emphasis on yoga and ayurveda would lead to an amalgamation of tradition and modernity and inclusion of yoga in the school syllabus would turn Haryana into a model state based on Indian values and traditions, Vij had said.

Yoga would be made a compulsory subject in Haryana’s schools for which ‘yogshalas’ will be constructed in all the towns and about 6,500 villages of the state under the guidance of Ramdev, he said.

Notably, last month, Haryana Assembly had witnessed uproarious scenes as the BJP government came under sharp attack from opposition Congress for allegedly “going out of way to please Ramdev by making him the brand ambassador” for promotion of yoga and ayurveda in the state.

(PTI)

Haryana Police arrest main accused in Hisar church attack case

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hisar-church-vandalised

New Delhi: Haryana Police on Tuesday arrested the main accused in the vandalisation of an under construction church in a village in Hisar district.

“The main accused Anil Godara has been arrested from Hisar today,” Hisar SP Saurabh Singh said.

He said that the accused will be produced before a court and police would seek his remand.

“Further investigations in the case are under progress and search is on for remaining accused,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed “deep concern” over the gang-rape of a 71-year-old nun in West Bengal’s Nadia district and the vandalisation of a church in Hisar, Haryana.

“The Prime Minister is deeply concerned about the incidents in Hisar, Haryana and Nadia, West Bengal,” the PMO said in a tweet.

On Sunday, an under construction church in Kaimri village in Hisar district of Haryana was vandalized by miscreants and the idol of Hindu god Hanuman was placed inside the premises.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had told the assembly on Monday that the church was reportedly built in an illegal colony and the dispute was the result of an altercation between the priest and those who attacked the place of worship.

Making a statement in the state assembly, Khattar that an FIR has been registered on the statement of church priest Subhash Chander, against accused Anil Godara, Dalbir Singh, Raj Kumar, Kuldeep, Satpal, Krishan, Suresh, Dinesh, Jogender, Kulwant, Sudhir, Bijender, Satnarain, Chhotu Ram and others.

The complainant has alleged that the accused entered into his house and damaged their religious symbol.

The accused persons have carried out this act because an altercation had taken place between the church priest and them on February 8, Khattar told the House.

(Agencies)

Haryana Assembly Passes Bill Banning Cow Slaughter, Sale of Beef

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REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

Chandigarh: The Haryana Assembly on Monday evening unanimously passed a bill under which cow slaughter and the sale of beef have been banned in the state. The new law will also promote conservation and development of indigenous breeds of cows and establish institutions to keep, maintain and take care of the infirm, injured, stray and uneconomic cows.

As per the Haryana ‘Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan’ Bill, 2015, which was passed with two amendments, a person found guilty of cow slaughter can get rigorous imprisonment not less than three years, which may extend upto 10 years along with a fine ranging from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 1 lakh.

Any person who exports cows for slaughter either directly or through somebody can get rigorous imprisonment not less than three years which may extend upto seven years, along with a fine from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 70,000.

However, the killing of a cow in an accident or self-defense will not be considered as slaughter under the Act.

The sale of beef will be completely banned in the state; the offence will be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for not less than three years and upto five years with fine of upto Rs. 50,000.

The government will also establish laboratories for differentiation of beef from that of the meat of other species of animals, and testing and identification of various constituents of milk.

Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar told mediapersons that the previous law was weak and had several loopholes.

“We have come up with a more stringent law… this will enable cow protection and development at the same time,” Mr Khattar said.

The opposition Indian National Lok Dal’s legislator Zakir Hussain said he had suggested a couple of amendments but the government has accepted only one.

“There should have been a provision for transport of cows within the state to avoid harassment of transporters, also similar punishment should be in place for corrupt officials who are found involved in beef trade. Government has accepted the latter suggestion,” Mr Hussain said.

(IANS)

Tension in Haryana village after church attack

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Chandigarh: Tension prevailed in a village in Haryana’s Hisar district on Monday after an under construction church was attacked and vandalised by miscreants and the idol of a Hindu god was placed inside the premises.

Police officials said on Monday that 14 people were booked for rioting, damaging place of worship, theft and promoting enmity following a complaint from the church priest in Kaimri village in Hisar district, 260km from here.

No arrests have been made so far. The attackers allegedly damaged the cross at the church and took away some other items.

The priest told media that certain activists of the Bajrang Dal and others had threatened him earlier. He alleged that the same people could be behind the attack on the church.

“I was threatened by Bajrang Dal activists and other locals last month,” the priest, Subhash Chand, said.

Haryana has a BJP government since October last year. Local residents in the village alleged that the priest was trying to construct the church despite the fact that there was no Christian in the entire village.

(Agencies)

 

#Beefban: Haryana govt to introduce Bill on banning cow slaughter

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Photo: IE

Photo: IE

Chandigarh: Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Parkash Dhankar today said that the state is all set to introduce a Bill for “protection and upkeep” of cows in Budget Session of the Assembly beginning tomorrow.

In the proposed ‘Govansh Sanrakashan and Gau Samvardhan (Cow Protection and Cow Conservation and Development) Bill’ efforts will be made to ban cow slaughter and for conservation and better care of indigenous cattle, he said.

“For the scientific test and analysis, government is considering to establish laboratories to differentiate beef from meat of that of other animal species. Test reports of these laboratories will be valid evidence in the court of law,” Dhankar said adding that sale of packaged beef has been banned in the state.

The minister noted that there were some 3,000 cows in the state in 400 cow shelters run by NGOs. Besides, some 1.5 lakh cows roam in fields or streets.

He said that the existing cow sheds will be upgraded and made self-sufficient.

“Special efforts will be taken for availability of Beta Carotene and A-2 milk protein in the milk of indigenous cows which are beneficial for control of diabetes and cholesterol in human beings and also known for better digestibility.

“The focus will also be on establishing a brand for the milk of indigenous cows and ensuring A-2 milk at remunerative prices,” Dhankar said.

The state will provide financial and technical support to cow welfare organisations like Gaushalas, Gau-Grah, Gau-Abhyaranya, Gau-Sadan, Gokul Gram that are engaged in maintenance and care of sick, injured, stray and uneconomic cows, he said.

“The government will take necessary steps to provide incentives for marketing and processing of milk from indigenous cows,” he added.

(PTI)

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