Jogi demands FRC for private schools

Raipur, April 26, 2012

Senior Congress legislator Ajit Jogi on Thursday demanded constitution of fee regulation committee (FRC) for private schools. He alleged that the government was deliberately ignoring its own schools and allowing the private schools to charge inordinate fees. He said the government should stop protecting private schools and tighten noose on them by forming FRC.

Cong takes out candle march

Raipur, April 26, 2012 

Demanding quick release of abducted Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon, the Congress members took candle march in all the district headquarters on Thursday. The party said it was unfortunate that the government had failed to get Menon released till date.

Cong to hold five rallies today

Raipur, April 26, 2012 

Congress will organise five public rallies at Durg Rural, Vaishali Nagar, Pamgarh, Akaltara and Samri Assembly areas under its vada nibhao fortnight on Friday.

According to information, while state Congress chief Nandkumar Patel will take public rallies at Maroda (Durg Rural VS area) and Housing Board Colony (Vaishali Nagar VS area), the rallies at Pamgarh (Pamgarh VS area) and Amora (Akaltara VS area) will be led by CLP leader Ravindra Choubey.

Similarly, the rally at Rajpur (Samri VS area) will be led by deputy CLP leader Rampukar Singh and legislator TS Singhdeo.

In the rallies at Durg Rural and Vaishali Nagar VS areas, the prominent party leaders who will accompany Patel will be former state Congress president Dhanendra Sahu, Pandaria MLA Mohammad Akbar and PCC vice president Pradeep Choubey.

The other party leaders who are in Patel’s team for vada nibhao fortnight and participate in the two rallies are - Rajendra Tiwari, Dhanesh Patila, Yogiraj Singh, Imran Memon, state Youth Congress president Uttam Vasudev, Dr Shivnarayan Dwivedi, Jeevan Lal Sahu, Deenanath Sahu, Prem Chandrakar, Yogendra Sharma, Gurmeet Dhanei and Surendra Sharma.

The prominent leader who will attend the rallies at Pamgarh and Akaltara VS areas are Dr Haridas Bhardwaj, Pushpa Devi Singh, KK Gupta, Baijnath Chandrakar, president of Rajiv Gandhi panchayati raj cell Dr Shakrajeet Nayak, Ganesh Shankar Bajpayee, Devcharan Madhukar, Tarun Chaterjee, NSUI state president Devendra Yadav, president of civic bodies’ cell Santosh Agrawal, convenor of kisan khet majdoor Congress Digvijay Singh Kridutt, panchayati raj cell president Dinesh Sharma, legal cell president Faizal Rizvi and migration & bonded labourer grievance redressal cell Mohanmani Jatwar will also attend the two rallies.

Similarly, the rally at Samri VS area will be attended by parliamentarian Ingrid Mcleod, MLA Bodhram Kanwar, Chaneshram Rathiya, Gulab Singh, chief organiser of state Sewa Dal Ashok Raj Ahuja, state INTUC president Mahendra Kochchar, Rajesh Sharma, Congress business cell president Kanhaiyya Agrawal, Harish Tiwari and Samir Pandey.

Cong seeks appointment from Swami Ramdev

Raipur, Apr 26: Congress has sought appointment from Swami Ramdev regarding its plan to submit memorandum to him against graft cases done by Chhattisgarh government on his arrival at Raipur on May 1, 2012.

In this connection, PCC general secretary Ramesh Warlyani has sent a letter to Ramdev on April 25.

In the letter, Warlyani extended best wishes to Ramdev for his nationwide anti-corruption campaign that will commence from Dalli Rajhara from May 1. He further sought ten minutes time from Ramdev so that a delegation of his party could meet him and inform him about corruption in Chhattisgarh in the form of a memorandum.

As Ramdev is set to target Congress-led UPA government under his anti-corruption campaign, the state Congress fears that the reverberations of his presence would spoil all its hard work done in last one year or so to frustrate Chhattisgarh government.

Notably, the Congress has organised district-level and Vidhan Sabha-level workers’ meetings in different parts of the state frequently besides raising all the burning issues including lawlessness, corruption and naxalism at state Assembly and during public rallies. Since April 16, 2012, the party has launched vada nibhao fortnight which will conclude on April 30.

The party claims to have received good response in every public rally organised during the fortnight. Now, it aims to conclude the fortnight with massive rally at Raipur on April 30 and to continue its offensive against the government in the form of vada nibhao campaign but arrival of Ramdev is likely to divert public attention from Congress programmes to his anti-corruption drive.

The Congress do not want the ruling BJP to take advantage of Ramdev’s drive and hence it has made ample preparation to introduce the Yoga guru the negative side of the state government by informing him about predominance of graft cases in all departments.

Meanwhile, the state Congress has also been categorically instructed by its national leadership to ensure that Ramdev in his drive must count corruption prevailed in Chhattisgarh.

The party has clear plans - if the Yoga guru will lambaste both UPA and Chhattisgarh governments on corruption scale then it will offer least resistance, but if he will spare the state government and charge the Centre then its frontal organisations like Pradesh Mahila Congress, Youth Congress, NSUI and different cells and morchas will portray him as biased and pro-BJP.

In Box

We want Ramdev’s remarks on grafts in CG: Patel

Raipur, Apr 26: PCC president Nandkumar Patel on Thursday said that his party want Swami Ramdev’s remarks on graft cases in Chhattisgarh. “Congress has already launched movement against corruption in the state. Now, Ramdev is arriving here to start his anti-corruption drive. We would certainly wish to know his reaction on corruption done by the BJP government,” Patel said.

BJP hijacking GSA: Congress

Raipur, Apr 26: Congress has alleged again that the BJP was hijacking government’s gram suraj abhiyan (GSA). “The BJP office-bearers, who do not assume any post in the government, could easily be seen during GSA programmes. In fact, the government is accumulating crowd on the name of GSA and then turning the events into BJP campaigning programmes,” charged Congress vice presidents TS Singhdeo, Kawasi Lakhma and other party leaders jointly on Thursday.

“Even, the GSA teams comprising government officials are entertaining the BJPians by felicitating them and asking them to distribute cheques and kits to the farmers. This is sheer violation of Civil Services rules and we will complaint about this to Union Labour Ministry,” they said.

They pointed that despite objection lodged by Congress over presence of BJPians in GSA programmes, the government ignored it.

president Nandkumar Patel and CLP leader Ravindra Choubey have alleged that the government was campaigning for BJP through its gram suraj abhiyan (GSA). Strongly objecting over presence of BJPians during GSA, the duo charged that the ruling party was misusing funds to portray better image of Chief Minister Raman Singh.

Condemning FIR lodged against ten Congress leaders at village Mendra in Ambikapur, the duo said it was surprising that the BJPians filed false complaint with police against the peaceful protesters for their objection over felicitation of two BJP office-bearers at government programme.

They informed that criminal case under section 186 was filed against Congress leaders Alok Dubey, Ajay Agrawal, Rakesh Gupta, Hemant Sinha, Rajesh Malik, Prakash Sahu, Veenu Soni, Arvind Singh, Madan Jaiswal and Shailendra.

“The Congmen had actually protested felicitation of BJP’s district general secretary Ambikesh Kesri and BJYM state president Anurag Singhdeo at GSA in village Mendra at evening on April 21. On the occasion, the GSA team not only garlanded Kesri and Singhdeo but also distributed cheques and kits to the farmers through them,” the duo said.

They alleged that the BJPians mounted pressure on SHO Sadar Police at Ambikapur on April 21 night to file false criminal case against ten protesting Congmen.

They demanded lifting of all charges against the ten Congress leaders and registration of criminal case against those officials who violated Civil Services rules to benefit a specific political party during government-sponsored programme.