News Analysis India

Tag: Haryana

  • Haryana honours doctors aged above 75 with ‘Vat Vriksha’ award

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Health Minister Anil Vij honoured 90 doctors above the age of 75 years on Sunday by presenting them with the ‘Vat Vriksha’ award for their dedicated service.

    Dr R S Sangwan (92) from Sirsa was also among those who received the honour. Speaking on the occasion, Khattar said the doctors of today’s generation should take inspiration from their counterparts of the older generation and serve humanity with the same spirit and devotion.

    Khattar said the process of opening one medical college in every district is underway to meet the demand of doctors in the state.

    He said a target has been set to prepare 2,500 doctors every year and for this the MBBS seats have been increased to 1,685 from 700 in 2014.

    The chief minister was addressing the ‘Doctors Day Award function’ organized under the aegis of Haryana Medical Council at Panchkula.

    He appreciated the title “Vat Vriksha” chosen by the Haryana Medical Council to honour the elderly doctors.

    Khattar said that at present the number of doctors in both private and government sectors in Haryana is about 13,000-14,000, whereas according to the UNO norms, there should be one doctor per 1,000 population.

    “If we consider the population of Haryana as 2.70 crore in 2021, then 27,000 doctors are required,” an official statement quoted his as saying.

    To meet this demand, a target has been set so that 2,500 new doctors are added each year, he added.

    Khattar said that required support and cooperation is also being received from the central government in the health sector.

    The National Cancer Institute has been established at Badsa in Jhajjar district. Apart from this, the process of setting up an AIIMS each in Rewari and Panchkula is going on, he said.

    Twenty-five acres of land in Panchkula has already been handed over to the central government, he said. Vij said the Health Department has done a commendable job during the Covid pandemic.

    He said the state is fully prepared to deal with a new variant which has been detected in some foreign countries.

    The minister said he salutes all doctors, paramedical staff and ambulance drivers who bravely fought against the pandemic. He said that he knows how deadly this disease can be.

    “But our doctors and medical staff worked day and night for Covid patients. Despite knowing the high-risk involved they discharged their duties with dedication to serve coronavirus patients,” Vij said.

    Vij said 28 people belonging to the Health Department have lost their lives to Covid. He said that in their memory ‘Wall of Memory’ will be built in the headquarters and district hospitals.

    RTPCR labs are being set up in all 22 districts, Vij further said, and claimed that Haryana is the first state where such labs are being set up in civil hospitals of every district for Covid testing.

  • Everyone should hold religious events inside places of worship: Haryana Minister Anil Vij on namaz row

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Amid protests by right-wing groups in Gurgaon against offering of ‘namaz’ in the open, Haryana’s Home Minister Anil Vij said on Sunday that everyone should hold religious events inside places of worship.

    Such events should be avoided on the roads without the permission of the administration, Vij told reporters in Ambala.

    “Everyone should hold religious events inside their religious places,” he said.

    On Friday, BJP leader Kapil Mishra attended Govardhan puja held at a site in Gurgaon’s Sector 12A, where Muslims used to offer ‘namaz’ every week.

    The puja was organised by Samyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti.

    A Gurgaon police official had earlier said that no namaz was scheduled to be offered at the site on Friday.

    Objecting to anyone occupying a public place to offer prayers, Mishra had said, “If people from different religions, faiths and sects keep occupying open public spaces on one day every week, it will result in blockade of all the roads and parks.”

    Around 30 people were briefly detained by police on October 29 for allegedly gathering to disrupt Friday namaz offered by Muslims in Sector 12 area in Gurgaon.

    Three years ago, the district administration had designated 37 sites in the city for Muslims to offer Friday namaz after which there were protests by some Hindu groups.

    A few months ago, a group started protests against the prayers offered in the open following which there have been demonstrations on Fridays for the past one month.

    Meanwhile, when Vij was asked to comment on BKU leader Rakesh Tikait’s statement that farmers’ protest will be intensified if the farm laws are not repealed till November 26, he said it is the farmer union leaders who do not want a solution to this issue.

    “The central government called farm union leaders for talks on numerous occasions. In democracy, all issues are resolved through dialogue. But for unknown reasons, they do not want to participate in the dialogue,” the state home minister claimed.

    “Only they know the politics behind their agitation. They do not want a solution to this issue,” he said.

    Replying to a question, Vij said the number of development works that have been completed during the seven-year tenure of the Modi government at the Centre were not done since Independence till now.

    “But if (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi cannot see that, then nothing can be done about it,” he added.

  • Higher compensation for crops damaged by recent hailstorm: Haryana CM Khattar

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said farmers whose crops were damaged due to the recent hailstorm will be given a compensation higher than the current rate of Rs 12,000 per acre.

    This will be announced at the next cabinet meeting, he said in Jharothi village in Sonipat district.

    The chief minister was speaking in a programme related to crop failure, according to an official statement.

    Khattar made several announcements for the farmers in Jharothi village, and said he himself is a farmer’s son and the entire Haryana is like his family.

    “Haryana is a land of farmers. When farmers are happy, then only shopkeepers, workers, traders, and people running factories will be benefitted,” he said.

    Taking a dig at the previous Congress government, Khattar said when crops were damaged due to rains back then, money used to be deposited in the accounts of the farmers after one and a half months.

    “During the previous governments, cheques of only up to Rs 2, Rs 4 and Rs 10 were also given to the farmers,” he claimed.

    When the new government was formed in the state, it was decided that no farmer’s cheque would be made less than Rs 500, Khattar said.

    In the earlier governments, Rs 5,700 per acre was given as compensation for crop failure, and it was later increased to Rs 7,500, the chief minister said.

    When the new government was formed, it announced a compensation of Rs 12,000 per acre, he added.

    Khattar said he has already conducted an aerial inspection of the villages of Gohana, Julana and Kharkhoda blocks for crop failure.

  • Plea in court seeks FIR against Haryana CM Khattar for inciting BJP workers against protesting farmers

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A petition was filed before a Delhi court on Wednesday seeking registration of an FIR against Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar for allegedly inciting BJP members earlier this month to use criminal force against the protesting farmers.

    The petition filed by advocate Amit Sahni alleged that there was a controversial video of the Chief Minister and BJP member recorded during a meeting with the workers belonging to party’s ‘kisan morcha’ at his residence at Chandigarh on October 3.

    It claimed that in the video, the CM was seen instigating party workers to use criminal force against the protesting farmers and “to create 500- 600-1,000 volunteers in every district of north and west Haryana, and be ready to face sticks, imprisonment, which will make them big leaders.

    ” The petition, which is likely to come up for hearing before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sachin Gupta on Thursday, accused that Khattar has committed offence under various sections, including 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).

    The petition urged the court to summon the Khattar and punish him in accordance with law, and also direct the police officials concerned to conduct investigation against him by lodging an FIR.

  • Free education for those whose family income is less than Rs 1.80 lakh per annum: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday announced free education for those whose verified family income is less than Rs.1.80 lakh per annum.

    Khattar said the government wants to ensure that no talented student belonging to a poor family loses a chance to pursue his or her dreams.

    Free of cost education will be given to those whose verified family income is less than Rs 1.80 lakh per annum under the state government’s ambitious Parivar Pehchan Patra (family id) scheme, he said.

    The chief minister made this announcement while interacting with students who have cracked the civil services exam-2020 and JEE advance exam-2021 under Haryana’s ‘Super 100 Programme’ during a state-level felicitation programme held at Panchkula.

    Education Minister Kanwar Pal, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, and Ambala MP Rattan Lal Kataria were present on the occasion.

    Congratulating the students who have cleared the civil services exam, Khattar said, “Each one of you should remember that you have decided to opt for civil service as a career option for serving the society as during your service period you will get innumerable opportunities to work in the diverse fields.”

    “Therefore, I expect that each one of you will certainly try your level best for achieving excellence to make Haryana proud,” he added.

    Lauding 29 students from poor background who have cracked the JEE advance exam, the chief minister said, “All of you are a great example that if you have talent, no one can stop you from achieving your dreams no matter if you belong to a poor family. I hope that all of you will make Haryana proud in whichever field you will opt for.”

    Khattar said according to the New Education Policy-2020, institutions are being set up in the state wherein education will be provided from KG to postgraduate levels.

    “Initially, we are going to make an arrangement of imparting education from KG to PG in four universities. Kurukshetra University has started preparing for admission to be given under KG to PG scheme from this academic session that is 2021-22,” he said.

    Khattar said in 2014, when he was sworn in as the chief minister for the first term, ensuring overall and equitable development was his utmost priority.

    However, among all other sectors, bringing revolutionary reforms in education was his primary focus, for which many new and unique schemes were formulated and set up by the state government.

    At present, digital reforms have been brought to replace human interface in almost every wing of the government, he said.

    Online teachers transfer policy is one of the greatest examples of this as under this system more than 90 per cent of teachers are satisfied, he claimed.

    Similarly, various online reforms are being brought in to make the system paperless, faceless and transparent, he said.

    “In the last seven years, we have been doing various works to bring in revolutionary reforms and ensuring government welfare benefits reach those at the bottom of the pyramid. I am now satisfied and overwhelmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recognised our hard work,” said Khattar.

    Modi had on Thursday heaped praise on Khattar, saying that after decades, the state has got a government which works with absolute honesty and was the best in the last five decades.

  • Haryana government transfers 26 IPS officers

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: In a major reshuffle, the Haryana government on Friday issued transfer and posting orders of 26 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, including several district police chiefs, with immediate effect.

    Kala Ramachandran, principal secretary, Transport Department with additional charge of ADGP, Crime Against Women, has been given additional charge of ADGP, State Vigilance Bureau (SVB), according to an official statement.

    Bharti Arora, IGP, Ambala has been given additional charge of IG, Women Safety, the statement said.

    Shiv Charan, DIG, State Crime Branch (H) has been posted as DIG, SVB, Hisar.

    Ambala Superintendent of Police (SP) Hamid Akhtar has been posted as SP, State Crime Branch (headquarters).

    Rohtak SP Rahul Sharma has been posted as SP of Sonipat, and Jhajjar SP Rajesh Duggal has been posted as SP of Palwal.

    Rajender Kumar Meena, Commandant of 5th Battalion of Haryana Armed Police (HAP), MBN with additional charge of 2nd Battalion of HAP has been given additional charge of SP Traffic, Karnal.

    Rewari SP Abhishek Jorwal has been posted as SP of SVB(H).

    Palwal SP Deepak Gahlawat has been posted as SP of Charkhi Dadri.

    Sonipat SP Jashandeep Randhawa with additional charge of STF Sonipat has been posted as SP of Ambala.

    Kurukshetra SP Himanshu Garg has been posted as SP, SVB (headquarters).

    Jind SP Wassem Akram has been posted as SP of Jhajjar.

    Fatehabad SP Rajesh Kumar has been posted as SP of Rewari.

    Nuh SP Narender Bijarniya has been posted as SP of Jind.

    SP, Telecom, Udai Singh Meena has been posted as SP of Rohtak.

    Charkhi Dadri SP Vinod Kumar has been posted as DCP of South Gurgaon.

    He replaces Dheeraj Kumar, who has been posted as SP of Kurukshetra.

    Surinder Singh, SP Security CID, has been posted as SP of Fatehabad.

    The government also issued transfer and posting orders of seven Haryana Police Service officers with immediate effect.

  • Every section of society suffering from wrong policies of Haryana government: Abhay Singh Chautala

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala on Tuesday said every section of the society is suffering from the wrong policies of the BJP-led government in Haryana and people want to get rid of its misrule.

    He also said a steep rise in the prices of essential commodities has made the life of a common man difficult, while on the other hand, the unemployment rate has gone up.

    “Despite this, the government remains indifferent to the people’s problems,” Chautala said addressing a series of poll meetings in different villages of the Ellenabad Assembly constituency, which will go to bypoll on October 30.

    The bypoll to the Ellenabad Assembly seat in Sirsa district was necessitated after Chautala quit the seat in January in protest against three new farm laws of the Centre.

    The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has again fielded Chautala as its candidate in the bypoll.

    Gobind Kanda, the brother of Haryana Lokhit Party chief and legislator Gopal Kanda, joined the BJP recently and has been fielded from Ellenabad by the ruling BJP-JJP combine.

    Pawan Beniwal, who had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls against Chautala, switched over from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the Congress subsequently and is also in the fray.

    Chautala said one cannot expect much from the political parties that do not even have their own candidates to field in the bypoll.

    He said the INLD is the only party where an ordinary worker is given due respect.

    Chautala said he has toured the rural Assembly segment several times and has found out that people want to strengthen the INLD’s hands.

    The younger son of INLD chief and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala said he is getting the blessings of the voters of Ellenabad and for him, the interests of the people of the constituency are supreme.

    He said he enjoys cordial relations with the people of Ellenabad and they are his family members.

    Chautala said the people of Ellenabad “cannot be misled by opportunists” as they know that only the INLD thinks about their well-being.

    “BJP’s Gobind Kanda and his brother Gopal Kanda, both do politics of opportunism,” he alleged.

    Chautala said the opportunist leaders will stay in Ellenabad only till the bypoll and will not be seen in the constituency after that.

    Appealing to people to vote for him, he said it is necessary to put an end to the “misrule” of BJP-JJP combine.

    Bypolls for the Ellenabad seat will be held on October 30 and the votes will be counted on November 2.

  • Singhu border killing: NCM gives Khattar govt 15 days to file detailed report

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  The National Commission for Minorities on Monday sought a detailed report from the Haryana government on the killing of Lakhbir Singh at the Singhu border. The minorities panel also sought details on the alleged desecration of the holy book of Sikhs. Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Iqbal Singh Lalpura took suo-moto cognizance of the matter and directed the Haryana government to file a report in the matter within 15 days. 

    “NCM is seeking a report to be furnished within 15 days from the Chief Secretary, Haryana regarding the details of Holy book which was stated to be desecrated and comments of Jathedhar Akal Takht, Amritsar on the said action of desecration of the Holy Book and the ensuing brutal action by group of Nihangs,” the minorities panel said, in a statement. 

    The development comes a day after Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh termed the lynching at the Singhu border a result of the failure of rule of law and demanded a thorough investigation into the incident “so that the right side of the Sikh community could be presented to the world.” 

    In a statement issued on Sunday, Giani Harpreet Singh asked the government and the police not to take it as a matter of law and order in view of the religious sensitivity and emotional seriousness of the matter. He also exhorted the media to refrain from tarnishing the image of Sikhs by showing incomplete aspects of the incident.

    Immediate reaction

    The development comes a day after Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh termed the lynching at the Singhu border a result of the failure of law and demanded a thorough investigation

  • No place for violence, government’s responsibility to investigate: Congress on Haryana incident

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Asserting that there is no place for violence anywhere, the Congress on Friday said it is the government’s responsibility to investigate the incident in which the body of a man has been found near a farmers’ protest site in Haryana, and that the law should take its course.

    The body of the man with one of his hands chopped off was found tied to a metal barricade near at Kundli in Haryana’s Sonipat district on Friday, police said.

    In a video clip that has gone viral on social media platforms, some Nihangs are seen standing as the man lies on the ground in a pool of blood with his chopped off left hand lying next to him.

    Asked about the incident, Congress spokesperson, Pawan Khera said, “We saw it on social media, don’t know the details yet. There is no place at all whatsoever for violence anywhere in the country.”

    “This country is and must be governed by the rule of law. It is the government’s responsibility to get deep into this, investigate and let the law take its course,” he said in response to a question at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here.

    Another Congress leader Salman Anees Soz said the “gruesome murder” at the Singhu border (between Delhi-Haryana) is shocking and condemnable.

    “Hope the perpetrators are quickly brought to justice. But there will now be an attempt to paint all protesters as killers. Just watch how low government supporters will go,” he said in a tweet.

    Reacting to the incident, BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya said had Rakesh Tikait not “justified” lynching in Lakhimpur Kheri, with Yogendra Yadav, sitting next to him, maintaining sanctimonious silence, the gory murder of a youth at Kundli border would not have happened.

    “Anarchists behind these protests in the name of farmers need to be exposed,” he said. Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also tweeted on the incident, saying, “What a sad and condemnable turn of events, fight for justice cannot become means to violence and deaths. This is shameful and the guilty need to be punished. Shameful.” Former diplomat K C Singh also condemned the “gruesome murder” at Singhu and asserted that no crime justifies acts one associates with ISIS/Al Qaeda or vigilantism in Pakistan.

    The deceased, Lakhbir Singh, was stated to be a labourer from Punjab’s Tarn Taran and was aged around 35 years, police said, adding that the body was found tied to a metal barricade near a stage put up by the farmers protesting against three agriculture laws of the Centre at the site for over 10 months. The farmers’ protest site is located close to the Delhi-Haryana border at Singhu.

  • Benefits of health services to be accessible to extremely poor in Haryana: CM Khattar

    For this purpose, a committee will be constituted at the district level under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, said Khattar while interacting with office bearers of BJP Seva Cell here.