Haryana khaps running awareness campaign against drug menace
Chandigarh (PTI): Several khap panchayats in Haryana are running an awareness campaign against the ill-effects of drugs and also sensitising people in the rural areas on the importance of environmental protection.
A prominent khap leader said many khap panchayats (caste councils) are involved in the campaign against drugs as they are apprehensive that the menace can spread in Haryana just like it has in neighbouring Punjab.
"Our khap and many other khaps in Rohtak, Sonipat, Jind, Hisar and elsewhere are running the campaign against the menace of drugs. We make people, especially youngsters, aware of the ill-effects of drugs and prevent addiction," Tek Ram Kandela, the head of the Sarv Jatiya Kandela Khap, said.
He also said they sensitise people on issues related to the environment when they hold panchayats in villages.
"We also promote organic farming," Kandela said.
On the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking last month, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had launched the "Nasha Mukt Haryana (drugs-free Haryana)" campaign at a programme organised in Panchkula.
Khattar had said a new task force will be formed under the campaign.
Meanwhile, asked to comment on a uniform civil code (UCC) for which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making a strong pitch, Kandela said, "Our khap is yet to take a stand on it. We will take views from people, hold a meeting and then decide."
He also said several khap panchayats in the state have been pushing for a ban on marriages between two people belonging to the same "gotra" (clan).
Kandela said they are demanding an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act to ban such marriages.
"We are demanding a ban on such marriages as well as on marriages in the same village or between people in villages that share boundaries with each other.
"We have demanded from the government that the Hindu Marriage Act should be amended to ban marriages within the same village and between people in adjoining villages as well as within the same gotra. Laws are made according to the society and if the society does not allow it, the law should also recognise it," he said.
"We recently sent a representation to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in this regard," he added.
Kandela claimed that according to norms, people from the same "gotra" and same village are considered to be siblings and matrimonial alliances between them need to be banned.
"Besides, a ban on same gotra marriages would also bring an end to honour killings and animosity in villages," he said.
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Congress calls for probe over BJP's 'use of blackmail' to bring Ajit Pawar into NDA fold
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday called for a probe into alleged "blackmail" and "coercion" used to bring NCP leader Ajit Pawar into the NDA fold and said the BJP's "washing machine" was nowhere more powerful than in Maharashtra.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh cited Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's recent remarks to claim that the issue involved not just the use of "coercion and blackmail" but also breach of the oath of confidentiality and the Official Secrets Act.
"The BJP's washing machine is an all-India phenomenon but perhaps nowhere was it more powerful than in Maharashtra," he said.
When in opposition before 2014, the BJP raised allegations about massive corruption by Ajit Pawar, then the state's irrigation and water resources minister, Ramesh pointed out and added that the allegations claimed corruption to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore.
Ajit Pawar has now confirmed that blackmail and coercion surrounding these charges were used by the BJP to bring him over to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Congress leader claimed.
"The non-biological prime minister himself led the charge, famously labelling the NCP -- now his much beloved ally at the state and Centre -- as a Naturally Corrupt Party," he said.
"Ajit Pawar has now revealed that after becoming chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis showed him a file recommending an open inquiry against Ajit Pawar in the alleged irrigation scam. One can only imagine the threat that was implicit in this move: submit to us, or face action," Ramesh said.
Ajit Pawar and several other MLAs broke away from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by his uncle Sharad Pawar and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state last year.
Ramesh asserted that this was a serious matter since it involved not just the use of coercion and blackmail but also breach of the oath of confidentiality and the Official Secrets Act.
An investigation should be conducted into this matter, the Congress leader said.
His remarks came days after Ajit Pawar alleged he was "backstabbed" by close colleague and then home minister RR Patil, who ordered an open inquiry against him in the alleged multi-crore irrigation scam.
Ajit Pawar claimed a file mentioning Patil's remarks ordering an inquiry was shown to him by BJP leader Fadnavis after he became chief minister in 2014.
He made these claims while addressing a rally for NCP candidate Sanjay Kaka Patil, who is in the fray against the late Patil's son Rohit from Tasgaon in Sangli district.
