New Delhi :
Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will launch the third leg of his three-day Jan Kranti Yatra with a public meeting at Punhana in Nuh district on June 30, and raise the government’s alleged neglect in the area.

The yatra and Hooda’s moves will be followed by the BJP and INLD.

Hooda discussed finer points of the yatra with his supporters from Nuh here on Sunday. The yatra will pass through all the three Assembly segments of Nuh district during the three days.

“The BJP government in the state has stopped development projects, especially those relating to the core social sectors of education, health and employment,” he said.
He said farmers of Mewat felt neglected and the public was reeling under worsening law and order condition.

Aftab Ahmad, former minister in the Hooda Cabinet from Nuh, alleged that the present dispensation was “apathetic” towards Nuh, which was created as a separate district by the Congress government headed by Hooda.

He said the development, including job avenues, in the area had come to a standstill. The Shahid Hasan Khan Mewat Government Medical College, which was constructed during the Hooda government, was atrophied with shortage of medicines and doctors.
Mewat encompasses Nuh, and Hodal Assembly seats in Palwal district. It accounts for four Assembly segments. The others are Nuh, Punhana and Ferozepur Jhirka. The erstwhile Taoru Assembly segment, which is a part of the Nuh district, has been merged with Sohna Assembly in Gurugram district.

Although the number of seats appears insignificant in the 90-seat Haryana Assembly, Mewat has a symbolic value on account of the religious diversity of the people.
The electoral battle in the Assembly election remains between the INLD and the Congress.

In the last Assembly elections, while the INLD won Nuh, Ferozepur Jhirka and Hodal seats, the Congress drew a blank. The Punhana seat was won by an independent candidate. The BJP won the Sohna seat on account of split of Meo votes between the INLD and the Congress in Taoru.

With regard Hooda putting the spotlight on Mewat, the BJP will be uneasy at the Congress revival in Mewat. The INLD, too, is keen on protecting its turf.
The February 25 and June 3 rallies relating to the first and second leg of the yatra, respectively at Hodal in Palwal and Samalkha in Panipat, reportedly had good turnout.

Rohtak :
The police have registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint lodged by the district bar association general secretary regarding the alleged embezzlement worth crores of rupees and concealment of the bar association record.

Talking here, district bar association general secretary Puneet Punia said the elections for the association were held on April 6, 2018. However, the outgoing team of the office-bearers did not hand over the records, including receipts, ledgers, accounts book and minutes book etc to the newly inducted team.

He said a general house meeting was held on April 21, at which it was decided to give two days’ time to the previous office-bearers to furnish the association record, failing which legal proceedings were to be initiated against them.

Punia said when the former president of the association, Deepak Kundu, present president Lokender Phougat alias Jojo, former secretary Sumit Budhwar and clerks Jogender Kundu, Sandeep Kumar and Sombir failed to produce the record, he lodged a complaint with the police.

The case was registered against the said persons under Sections 149, 204, 409 and 477-A of the IPC. Punia alleged that these persons had concealed several years’ record to cover alleged embezzlement of crores of rupees collected for the construction of lawyers’ chambers and subscription fees etc.

On the other hand, district bar association president Lokender Phougat while refuting the allegations had termed these as “motivated by internal politics of the bar association.”
Phougat said that in a written reply submitted with the economic offences wing at the SP office, he had stated that the entire record was available at the association office and any authorised person could check it any time. The sections imposed in the FIR were unmaintainable, he added.

District bar association’s former president Deepak Kundu also termed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated, stating that it was an attempt to tarnish their image.

Kurukshetra :
Governor Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki asked higher education institutes to see that political parties do not influence the proposed students’ body elections.

Speaking at the inaugural function of a two-day conference of Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of all state universities here, Solanki said the sole purpose of the students’ elections was to inculcate leadership qualities in diverse fields.

“Elections at colleges and universities of Haryana are expected to be held soon. But it should be checked that political parties do not influence these elections. Students elections are not just about political opportunity, but also about nurturing the youth with qualities to be a more responsible citizen,” he said.

The conference is being organised by the Haryana State Higher Education Council (HSHEC). It will be addressed by the Chief Minister and Education Minister on Saturday.
Solanki said that with 29 points, Haryana was among the leading states in the highest Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education.

“Kurukshetra University and Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, are among the 21 state universities across the country that have been declared autonomous institutes by the UGC. Liberal grants by the Centre have been announced in recognition of their academic achievements,” he said.

Solanki asked the heads of various universities to make efforts to make their institutes world-class.

“In the ancient era, India was known for making contributions in the field of education. But today, none of our institutes ranks among the world’s best institutes of higher education. The Centre has started giving grants to strengthen infrastructure and research activities. The onus now lies with the universities to achieve higher targets,” he said.

Prof BK Kuthiala, chairperson, HSHEC, said the various groups of VCs, Registrars, Deans and Controller of Examinations would hold brainstorming sessions on improving the academic and financial system in the universities.

He said streamlining the examination system would be the thrust area for greater transparency and timely declaration of results.

Karnal :
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has formulated an ambitious five-year project starting from 2017-18 to raise the standard of agricultural education in the country to provide more jobs to students and to inculcate entrepreneurship in them.

This was stated by Dr P Ramasundaram, National Coordinator, National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, (ICAR), New Delhi.

While chairing the inaugural ceremony of a two-day workshop on incentivising dairy education through innovative learning approaches at NDRI here on Friday, he said that the project has a total outlay of Rs 1,100 crore and its cost would be shared on 50:50 basis between the World Bank and Government of India.

The project would be implemented by ICAR through its educational division and through component institutional development plan (IDP), he said.

Dr Ramasundaram said that the IDP component would be implemented across agricultural universities and is also being initiated at NDRI. Dr RRB Singh, Director, NDRI, said that the project would enhance the students’ soft skills and professional skills and would prepare NDRI students for Indian as well as the global dairy industry.

He said that under this project, greater emphasis would be given on creating more industry-oriented modules as well as linkages with industries to improve the problem-solving skills in the dairy graduates of the institute.

Further, international linkages would be strengthened -– both with academic as well as industrial houses to enhance student competence and also to prepare students for global career opportunities. He said that another objective of the project was to enhance the faculty competence though international linkages.

The project

• A five-year project has been started by the ICAR to raise the standard of agricultural education in the country to provide more jobs to students and to inculcate entrepreneurship in them
• Under the project, greater emphasis would be laid on creating more industry-oriented modules and linkages with industries to improve the problem-solving skills in dairy graduates 

Chandigarh :
The Haryana Government’s recent order, asking sportspersons employed in government departments and bodies controlled by the state to hand over one-third of their income from participation in professional events and endorsements, has sparked resentment.

Following criticism from all quarters, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced on Friday evening that the notification had been put on hold till further orders.

“I have asked for the file of the Sports Department in this regard. The notification has been put on hold till further orders. We are proud of the immense contribution of our sportspersons. I assure them of just consideration of all issues,” Khattar tweeted.
In a notification issued on April 30 by Ashok Khemka, Principal Secretary, Sports and Youths Welfare Department, the government ordered sportspersons from the state to hand over one-third of their income from participation in professional events and endorsements.

According to the notification, the amount was to be used for development of sports in the state and could go up to the entire earnings if the player had been granted leave with pay. The notification had triggered strong reactions from players and the Opposition.

Wrestler Geeta Phogat said the government move was not in the interests of sportspersons. Posted as DSP with the police, she said taking this step meant a slow death for sports in the state. “I appeal to the government to reconsider its decision,” she added.

Her younger sister Babita Phogat was more forthcoming in her criticism. “Perhaps the government does not realise how much hard work a sportsperson puts in to win medals for the country. How can it ask for one-third of our income? The government should have discussed it with sportspersons before framing such rules,” she said.

Olympian Sushil Kumar said the policy should be reviewed. Demanding immediate withdrawal of the policy, former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleged that the government had played a cruel joke on sportspersons.

“First, the government told sportspersons playing for other organisations that the prize money they get from their employers would be cut, forcing them to boycott the awards function. Now, the government has played another joke on them,” he said.

Randeep Surjewala, communications in charge of the AICC, said in a tweet, “Khattar government in Haryana comes up with bizarre ‘Tughlaki farmans’ on a daily basis. The BJP government in Haryana is in a race to outbid itself in issuance of obnoxiously perverse orders.”

Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Anil Vij justified the government move. He said there was nothing new as this clause had been included in the Haryana Services Rules, governing employees.

“According to rules, if a government employee earns any income, one-third of it has to be deposited with the government. This issue had come up when we gave permission to boxer Vijender Kumar to play as a professional. The matter was taken to the High Court, which asked us to frame rules in this regard,” he said.

The minister said the notification would apply only to those who earned by taking part in professional events and not to those playing in Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth events. He added that it would apply to amateurs earning from endorsements.
Quotes

Taking this step means a slow death for sports activities in the state. I appeal to the government to reconsider its decision. — Geeta Phogat, wrestler
Perhaps the government does not realise how much hard work a sportsperson puts in to win medals for the country. How can it ask for one-third of our income? The government should have discussed it with sportspersons before framing such rules. — Babita Phogat, wrestler

Khattar government in Haryana comes up with bizarre ‘Tughlaki farmans’ on a daily basis. The BJP government in Haryana is in a race to outbid itself in issuance of obnoxiously perverse orders. — Randeep Surjewala, Congress leader
First, the government told sports persons playing for other organisations that the prize money they received from their employers would be deducted, forcing them to boycott the awards function. Now, the government has played another joke on them. — Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former Chief Minister

According to the rules, if a government employee earns any income, one-third of it has to be deposited with the government. This issue had come up when we gave permission to boxer Vijender Kumar to play as a professional. The matter was taken to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which asked us to frame rules in this regard. — Anil Vij, Sports Minister