DECEMBER
3, 2002
Jain dares Ambika Soni
Chandigarh Tribune
Chandigarh, December 2: A former BJP MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, whom
the Congress has accused of land grab in Dera Bassi, today dared
Political Adviser to Sonia Gandhi, Ambika Soni, and local MP Pawan
Bansal to get an inquiry done through the CBI, Vigilance Department, of
the Congress government in Punjab or any other agency.
Mr Jain in a statement said he had
nothing to do either with the sale or purchase of the DAV society land
in Dera Bassi.
Mr Jain challenged the Congress
leaders to have a public debate in front of an independent body like
Press Club on the issue of two Congress MPs propriety in getting land
for Heritage Society to set up Delhi Pubic School.
Terming allegations of land grab as
“baseless”, he said the Congress leaders were trying to sidetrack the
issue of “impropriety” of party MPs.
Mr Jain said the land with which his
name had being associated had been sold in 1995 at a time when Mr Bansal
the MP.
DECEMBER
2, 2002
BJP rebel plea put on hold
The Telegraph- Calcutta, India
Lucknow, Dec. 1: Uttar Pradesh Speaker Kesari Nath Tripathi has reserved
his ruling on a BJP petition seeking disqualification of 10 rebel
legislators on the ground that their conduct amounts to voluntarily
quitting the party.
After hearing the arguments of counsels from both sides yesterday,
Tripathi said he would give his ruling on the maintainability of the
petition on a date to be announced later. ...
... Arguing for the BJP, counsel Satya Pal Jain admitted that there
might have been some flaws in the petition but these were “curable” and
could not be considered “fatal” for the petition itself.
He insisted that the conduct of the MLAs presented a perfect case
for disqualification under the Anti-Defection Act.
UP speaker reserves order on BJP dissidents
Rediff.com
Uttar Pradesh assembly Speaker Kesri Nath Tripathi on Saturday reserved
his order on the question of maintainability of a petition moved by the
Bharatiya Janata Party against ten dissident legislators under the
anti-defection law. ...
...Representing the party leadership was Sat Pal Jain,
Chandigarh-based counsel and former BJP legislator, who was of the view
that the act committed by the dissidents was enough to disqualify them
from membership of the state assembly.
He cited the strikingly similar case of Ravi Naik in Goa who was
disqualified for committing acts of indiscipline outside the assembly.
Jain's reference to the dissidents as "traitors" evoked a sharp
response. Prolonged arguments that continued for over five hours
eventually led the speaker to reserve his order.
NOVEMBER
30, 2002
Jain supports traders' protest
Chandigarh Tribune
Former MP Satyapal Jain addresses
the traders protesting against the rent Act in Chandigarh on Friday.
(Image Courtesy— The Tribune)
Chandigarh, November 29: The relay
fast by traders continued today and it got a boost, with former MP
Satya Pal Jain coming out in favour of the tenants.
He joined the protesters against the
recent amendment to the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949.
Visiting the protesting traders in Sector 17, Mr Jain, who was
accompanied by the president of the local unit of the BJP, Mr Yashpal
Mahajan, pledged total support to the agitation by the BJP.
Mr Jain, who went to the spot where
the traders were carrying out a relay fast, termed the amendment as
anti-trader and added that it would ruin the economy. ...
... The president of the mandal, Mr
Jagdish Arora, thanked Mr Jain for his support. A delegation of the
Chandigarh Beopar Mandal would call on Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna
Advani to apprise him of how the rent act would affect the trading
community.
OCTOBER
6, 2002
Former MP backs villagers' demand
Chandigarh Tribune
Chandigarh, October 5: Coming out in support for residents of Kishangarh
Village, a former BJP MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, said today that the
areas where middle-class people had built houses should be exempt from
acquisition.
These should be regularised by
providing electricity, water, roads and sewerage connections, he
asserted.
Residents of Kishangarh had blocked the Chandigarh —
Panchkula highway in protest of the land acquisition notices issued to
them.
Mr Jain said any house built outside the “Lal Dora” should
not be acquired.
Mr Jain, who was accompanied by senior leaders of the BJP,
visited Kishangarh and assured the villagers that the party fully
supported their demands and would take up the issue with the higher
authorities of the Chandigarh Administration. If necessary, the matter
could be taken up with Mr L.K. Advani.
Mr Jain claimed that in 1998, when Mr Jagdish Sagar was the
Adviser to the UT Administrator, the Chandigarh Administration had taken
a decision that the houses built outside the “Lal Dora” in all 22
villages of Chandigarh would not be demolished.
SEPTEMBER
1, 2002
Heritage land issue: BJP challenges Cong for a
debate
Chandigarh Tribune
Chandigarh, August 31: The local unit of the BJP led by former MP, Mr
Satya Pal Jain and its president Mr Yashpal Mahajan, today asked the
Congress for a public debate on the issue rather than level personal
allegations.
The BJP today asked the Congress
chief, Ms Sonia Gandhi, to seek resignations from her Political
Secretary Ms Ambika Soni and Congress National Secretary and local MP,
Mr Pawan Bansal, for getting a piece of land for running a school by
‘’influencing’’ officers. When asked who were these officers, Mr Jain
said, they would reveal the name within one week and send a detailed
complaint to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The last date for
receiving applications was extended and various other benefits were
given to the Heritage society, he alleged.
“Ms Sonia Gandhi must apply the
yardstick of political propriety to her own party in this case before
seeking resignations of BJP ministers on petrol pump and land allotment
issue,’’ the BJP national executive committee member and in charge,
Uttaranchal, Mr Satyapal Jain, said at a press conference this
afternoon.
Mr Jain sought to involve Ms Sonia
Gandhi in the affair asking her whether it was proper for a senior
Congress leader like Ms Soni to draw benefits from two places — at Delhi
as a Rajya Sabha member and at Chandigarh as an allottee of land
claiming to be social worker in the later case. ...
... Mr Jain asked the Congress
leaders why there were only family members in an education society and
none of the educationists in the city, even those owing allegiance to
the Congress, was thought to be able to be included in the society. He
asked the Congressmen to refrain from making personal attacks.
MARCH
25, 2002
PM halts at city airport
Chandigarh Tribune
Chandigarh, March 24: The Prime Minister,
Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, had a ten-minute halt at the Chandigarh
technical airport en route his visit to Shimla. He will return to New
Delhi tomorrow after a night’s retreat at Shimla. ...
