Wednesday, June 2, 1999
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P U N J A B | |
Wednesday, June 2, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Tohra to
steer clear of radical politics Mourners reverentially recall
Ajay's sacrifice |
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PRTC to
introduce contract system Mann drops 'Khalistan' from agenda Brar: bogus votes being made in
Badal’s house Interrogation goes hi-tech Contempt notice to Chief Secretary PPCC to shortlist nominees soon Amarinder opposes Aziz's visit Air strikes fail to dampen amity
Teachers resent cut in salary 15-day ultimatum to Punjab Govt Robbers’ gang busted Illuminations till June 15 Helmets must in Jalandhar Businessman alleges torture by
police Teachers want revised scales
notified Lack of funds hit development work Parked trucks traffic hazard |
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News analysis LUDHIANA, June 1 — The Shiromani Akali Dal headed by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra plans to steer clear of the radical Sikh politics being pursued by the factions headed by Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, Mr Kuldip Singh Wadala and Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode. Although the Dal (Tohra) will not be averse to arriving at some kind of electoral understanding with one or two, if not all, of these Akali factions in the forthcoming poll to the Lok Sabha, it intends to follow its own policies and programmes and maintain a safe distance from the policies being followed by them. As a matter of fact, the Dal (T) leadership has been acutely aware of the fact that the new outfit was being dubbed a "gathering of radicals and hardliners" by the rival Dal headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal and the Congress even before it was born on Sunday. Both parties have been competing with each other in accusing Mr Tohra and his followers of trying to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of Punjab by raking up contentious issues. The moderate, middle-of-the-road policies enunciated by the Dal (T) in its political document adopted at the Sunday convention at Alamgir have, therefore, come as a surprise to many and deprives the Dal (B) and the Congress of a handy stick to beat it with. The Dal (T) regards both the Dal (B) and the Congress as its main political enemies in Punjab and has vowed to give them no quarter in the parliamentary electoral battle. Interestingly, both the Dal (B) and the Dal (T) have been accusing each other of being hand in glove with the Congress. The Dal (T) has set out its own political and social goals and declared unambiguously that it "believed in the unity, integrity and security of India." "We honestly believe in the development and strengthening of a truly federal India for the preservation and progress of various religious, linguistic and cultural denominations, particularly the minorities and the regional identities. This would lead to a strong and prosperous India", says the political resolution passed at Sunday's Panthic convention at Gurdwara Alamgir. It complains that the vibrant character and pro-active role of the Akali Dal has been misrepresented and misconstrued in the past by ruling cliques with the ulterior motive of defaming the Sikhs. The party will not permit anybody to erode the distinct identity of the Sikhs. It will also strive for the evolution of a society and system based on the Sikh Gurus' concept of equality, will-being and justice for all citizens, so that various communities co-exist on the basis of peace, progress, tolerance and self-respect. The party is at pains to
stress that it is not a new party. "It owes its
existence to the original Akali Dal formed at the holy
Akal Takht Sahib in the year 1922. It has become
necessary to rejuvenate the moribund apparatus stagnating
under Mr Parkash Singh Badal, who has eroded the aims,
objectives, policies, programmes and constitution of the
party. He has smothered inner-party democracy to the
extent that even an honest expression of opinion by the
seniormost leader of the party is rewarded with organised
abuse and a campaign of vilification inspired by Mr
Badal. This truly democratic organisation of
distinguished martyrs has been converted into a coterie
of apostate Sikhs, dedicated to the cause of a single
family." |
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Mourners reverentially recall
Ajay's sacrifice BHISIANA (Bathinda), June 1 — A large number of mourners who are not even acquainted with the deceased fighter pilot Ajay Ahuja and his family members are visiting his house in the local Air Force station to express sympathy with the bereaved family daily. Men, women and children of the Bathinda city and its surrounding towns and villages are also visiting the cremation ground of Killi village where the body of Fighter Pilot, Ajay Ahuja, who was shot dead by the Pakistan Army when he ejected safely from his MiG-27 after it was hit by a missile in the Kargil sector on May 27, was cremated on May 30 to pay respect to the brave soldier. Mr G.S. Sidhu, Warrant Officer, IAF told The Tribune that people who were even unknown to the family were coming in groups from various places to express concern about the deceased fighter pilot, Ajay Ahuja. "The sacrifice of Ajay Ahuja for the sake of protection of frontiers of the country has generated a new wave of national spirit among the Indians. Even the man in the street is proud of Ajay Ahuja", said Mr Raj Bhupinder Singh Sidhu, former president of Bathinda District Bar Association while coming out of Ajay's house. He said that the Bathinda District Bar Association had also passed a resolution of condolence to the bereaved family and 15 advocates came personally to the bereaved family members today to express sympathy with them. A visit to Ajay's house today, showed that the "uthala" ceremony was going on. An eerie silence was being frequently broken by the wailing relatives of Ajay. His son Ankur, who till date does not know what has happened to his father was playing with flowers, leaves and sandal sticks placed in front of the photo of Ajay Ahuja. Mr Amarinder Singh Mr Jagroop Gill and Mr Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi President, organising secretary and general secretary, respectively of the PPCC also visited to the bereaved family members and offered condolence on behalf AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi and all party workers. Mr Kewal Krishan Aggarwal, general secretary, DCC (I), Bathinda told The Tribune that state unit of the Congress would give Rs two lakh to the bereaved family members on June 11. The residents of village
Killi Nihalsinghwala and Bhisiana had prepared themselves
for making any sacrifice for the country after the death
of Ajay Ahuja, said Mr Jaswinder Singh Gogi, a local
resident. |
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Schoolboy’s salute to national hero MOGA, June 1 — Nikhil Sood alias Timmi, a student of Class X of D.N. Model School here yesterday sent a cheque for Rs 500 to the Deputy Commissioner Bathinda, asking him to hand it over to the family of Ajay Ahuja who sacrificed his life for the motherland while fighting intruders in the Kargil sector in Jammu and Kashmir. The money which Nikhil has sent to the Deputy Commissioner has been saved from his pocket money, the report said. Besides in a letter to
the Prime Minister of India, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee,
Nikhil has asked him to fight and finish the
Pakistani-backed infiltrators in the Kargil, Dras sector
in Jammu and Kashmir who wanted to grab Indian territory.
He further said that the entire nation, including
students, were behind him in this hour of need and
prepared to sacrifice their life for the nation, in the
letter to the Prime Minister. |
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PRTC to introduce contract
system PATIALA, June 1 — The PRTC management, while maintaining that it will not allow its services to be affected by the June 3 strike call given by worker's unions, says it has taken a decision to hire drivers and conductors on a contract basis for a two-year period to make the corporation financially sound. Addressing a press conference here today, PRTC Chairman B.Vikram said as the AITUC, which he claimed was a major union of employees, had not endorsed the strike call, a majority of the employees would be on duty on June 3. The strike call has been given by the INTUC, the Karamchari Dal, the CITU and the Scheduled Castes and backward class employee's unions. Mr Vikram said hiring drivers and conductors on contract would give the corporation an opportunity to earn more revenue as 50 per cent of its revenue had been exhausted on establishment costs due to a hike in salaries after the fourth Pay Commission report. It had been decided to fill the shortage of 200 drivers and 70 conductors so that routes totalling 25,000 km could be covered to generate revenue of Rs 20 crore. Mr Vikram said the contract scheme provided for the regular appointment of contractual workers on the successful completion of their contract period. After two years of the scheme, the PRTC would be in a better position to prove it was capable of growing. If successful, the scheme would help both the present workers as well as those taken on contract. The Chairman said the PRTC was giving the best contract vis-a-vis those offered by the Haryana Government and the Chandigarh Administration. The corporation was offering drivers Rs 3,250 per month and conductors Rs 2,800 per month besides overtime and night allowances. In contrast, the Haryana Government was giving drivers Rs 1,800 per month and the Chandigarh Administration Rs 2,400 per month. Mr Vikram claimed that the strike was the result of 88 employees' leaders posted at the two local depots being given fixed duty hours. "This apparently is not to their liking", he said. Mr Vikram said the
no-work-no-pay rule would be implemented in the case of
striking workers and action according to the law would be
taken against those disrupting the services. |
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Mann drops 'Khalistan' from
agenda AMRITSAR, June 1 — While the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), SAD (Democratic), Janata Dal and Rashtriya Janata Party have reached a poll understanding, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, President, SAD (Amritsar), has announced that the party has dropped the issue of 'Khalistan' from its proposed election manifesto. Earlier, at the time of tercentenary celebrations at Anandpur Sahib on April 14. Mr Mann had declared that he would get 'Khalistan' for Sikhs through democratic ways. Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Mann said that he would meet Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, President of the breakaway SAD, tomorrow for reaching a poll understanding with him. On the other hand Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode, President, SAD (Panthic), was in touch with the BSP supremo, Mr Kanshi Ram. He said the third front, including SAD (Amritsar), SAD (Panthic), SAD led by Mr Tohra, SAD (Democratic), Janata Dal and the RSP would contest all 14 seats in Punjab, including Chandigarh. He claimed that Bhai Ranjit Singh — the sacked Jathedar of the Akal Takht, had agreed to be convener of the proposed third front. he said that Bhai Ranjit Singh was recognised as Jathedar of Akal Takht by all SAD factions except SAD (Badal). Mr Mann also appreciated Bhai Ranjit Singh for not attending the SAD convention at Gurdwara Alamgir (Ludhiana) where Mr Tohra was elected President. Had Bhai Ranjit Singh attended the SAD convention of the Tohra faction he would have become party to only one faction. Now he was considered as 'real jathedar' of Akal Takht by all factions. Mr Mann said that the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections would be contested by the third front on Punjab and Panthic issues. The common minimum programme CMP would be worked out in a democratic way. Giving details, Mr Mann said that the CMP, included fair adjudication of inter-state river waters, transfer, of Chandigarh and other left-out Punjabi-speaking areas into Punjab and release of all Sikhs languishing in various jails of the country. To a question, Mr Mann said that Prof Manjit Singh, Jathedar, Kesgarh Sahib, should immediately resign in wake of the serious allegations levelled by Giani Bhagwan Singh, head granthi, Akal Takht. He said Prof Manjit Singh had earlier backed out from the Amritsar declaration in 1994. He had no moral right to be jathedar of any Takht anymore. To a question, Mr Mann
said that attending of bhog ceremony of late Ajit Singh
Sandhu, a former SSP of Tarn Taran, by Mr Harminder Singh
Gill, President, AISSF, was unfortunate. He said Ajit
Singh Sandhu had committed untold excesses on Sikh youths
during his stint as district police chief, Tarn Taran and
Ropar. |
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Brar: bogus votes being made in Badal’s house JALANDHAR, June 1 (PTI) — The Congress today accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of direct collusion in registering over 60,000 bogus votes and cancelling 25,000 votes of its committed supporters in Faridkot, Mr Badal’s home constituency, and demanded appointment of an independent election commission observer. "A big office has been established inside the house of the Chief Minister in his village Badal where senior district officials including deputy commissioners, block development officers SDM’s, ADC’s and tehsildars were colluding on instruction of the Chief Minister in registering bogus votes and other electoral malpractices,’’ Punjab Congress Vice-President Jagmeet Singh Brar told reporters here. Mr Brar, a long-time rival of Mr Badal, who is widely expected to contest from Faridkot on Congress ticket, said mere statistics of new voters being registered and the vote being cancelled vindicated his allegations. He said while under normal circumstances, the number of new voters in a constituency should be between 1 to 2 per cent, in Lambi assembly constituency of one lakh electorate, 9200 new votes have been registered. "Similarly, 4500 votes of known Congress supporters, including office-bearers of the party in the area have been cancelled’’. he alleged. Mr Brar said despite clear instructions of the Election Commission against transfer of any official concerned with electoral rolls' preparation, Moga Deputy Commissioner A.S. Kang was transferred recently. Mr Brar, who termed Faridkot as one of India's most sensitive Lok Sabha constituencies, said the CEC should immediately appoint an independent election observer from outside the state to keep tabs on malpractices in preparation of voters lists. He said even those officials against whom a petition had been admitted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for alleged electoral malpractices during 1998 Lok Sabha polls, are still holding vital offices against all democratic norms. "The Chief Minister, who is desperate for a win in Faridkot is violating all laws in the book and functioning like a despotic ruler", Mr Brar said, adding new projects like sugar mills and setting up of tehsils, were being announced in Faridkot with an eye on polls though the state treasury had no money for such ventures. Mr Brar had contested the Faridkot seat last time unsuccessfully against Mr Badal's son and Union Minister of State for Industry Sukhbir Singh Badal. The Akali Dal has yet to
announce candidate for this seat which is considered
prestigious for the Chief Minister. |
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Interrogation goes hi-tech AMRITSAR, June 1 — The joint interrogation centre where accused from Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India etc are interrogated, yesterday became the first centre of the Punjab Police where ultramodern lie-detector, computer of latest generation, digital camera, ultra violet lamp and other scientific aids were installed. The setting up of this ultra modern interrogation centre would help catch a criminal on the wrong foot without resorting to methods described by police critics as uncivilised and unscientific. Describing the centre as first of its kind, scientific interrogation centre in the state, Mr J.P. Bridi, Inspector-General (Border Range) said that two officers of the police had been trained in the operation of lie detector and understanding the psychology of a criminal. Polygraph, a state-of-the-art machine, popularly known as lie detector has got four parameters to catch a criminal on the wrong foot. These parameters are galvanic skin resistance(GSR), pulse rate respiration rate and blood pressure (BP). As long as a person speaks the truth, his GSR, pulse rate, BP and respiration are in normal range but when the subject is confronted with a question in response to which he tries to conceal or distort the fact his heart, skin and chest undergo physical and chemical changes due to a state of anxiety developed by him. These symptoms are promptly reflected in abrupt changes in GSR, BP, pulse, and respiration and form a sort of permanent record and can be used in evidence. The linkage of interrogations on lie detector with the computer of latest generation assumes greater significance in view of the fact that the details provided by the suspects can be instantly cross-checked with reference to the data on the activities of the smugglers stored on the computer. According to Mr Jasminder Singh, DIG (Border Range), photographs of the suspects could also be immediately stored into the computer by means of a digital camera. Authenticity of doubtful documents could also be instantly ascertained with the help of the ultra-violet lamp and magnifying camera. Mr Jatinder Jain, SP
(Anti-Smuggling) said that the joint interrogation centre
was a storehouse of information which had a record of
about 50,000 persons including 100 persons who fall in
the category of top smugglers. He said during 1998 as may
as 54 criminal cases were registered against persons of
various nationalities at Attari rail, Attari road and
Airport Rajasansi. These persons were booked on various
charges like smuggling forging travel documents,
violation of the Official Secrets Act etc. Similarly 69
LoC cases (black listed persons) were detected at these
checkposts during 1998, making the highest rate of
detection in India, computed as detections per lakh
passengers handled. |
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Contempt notice to Chief
Secretary CHANDIGARH, June 1 — Mr Justice V.S. Aggarwal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice to Mr R.S. Mann, Chief Secretary, Punjab in a contempt of court petition, filed by Mr Digvijay Singh and another, who were initially appointed as supervisors by the Government of India under the census of small scale units scheme but were later retrenched. The Punjab Government absorbed them as masters in the pay scale of Rs 1640-2925. They moved the high court for a directive for their absorption in the pay scale of Rs 1800-3200. On February 18, the high court directed that their claim should be decided within two months by the state government. It was alleged that
despite the expiry of the two-month period, the orders of
the high court had not been complied with, which is gross
disobedience of the high court and deserve to be severely
punished, said the petitioners. |
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PPCC to shortlist nominees
soon BATHINDA, June 1 — The PPCC will start the shortlisting of party candidates to be fielded in the Lok Sabha elections within 10 days. Talking to TNS here today the PPCC president, Mr Amarinder Singh, said after shortlisting the names the final list would be submitted to the Congress Parliamentary Board (CPB). The CPB, headed by Ms Sonia Gandhi would then select and allot the party ticket to the candidates. He said the party had decided in principle that only "winning candidates" would be given the party ticket and all leaders who opposed the official candidates would be expelled from the party for six years. The PPCC had also recommended the names of state leaders for the manifesto committee, the election committee and the campaign committee. These panels would come into existence shortly after approval by Mr Pranab Mukherjee. In the manifesto emphasis would be laid on issues like unemployment, the farmers’ plight, revival of the sinking industrial sector, rationalisation of the tax structure and the development of educational facilities at the grassroots level. He said the Congress would lay stress on the "failure" of Mr Parkash Singh Badal’s government on all fronts in the campaign. The people would also be made aware of the fact that rape, murder and extortion, apart from unprecedented corruption, had "become common" in Punjab under Mr Badal’s rule. He said a panel under the chairmanship of Mr R.R. Bhardwaj, a retired bureaucrat, had been constituted to prepare a master plan for the development of the state for 25 years. The plan would be used by the Congress to revamp the entire infrastructure of Punjab. He said the Congress
would like to have an election alliance with other
political parties in Punjab as per the directions of the
party high command or the local necessity. |
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Amarinder opposes Aziz's visit BATHINDA, June 1 — The PPCC chief, Mr Amarinder Singh, today said the Indian Government should not hold peace talks with the Pakistan till the Pakistan troops vacated the Indian territory in the Kargil sector. Addressing a press conference, he said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should not have allowed Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz to visit India for holding talks on infiltration by Pakistan troops in the Kargil sector. While pointing out that the Pakistan troops had infiltrated into the Indian territory due to failure of the foreign policy of Mr Vajpayee and soft stand adopted by former Prime Ministers H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral towards Pakistan, he said the central government should stop appeasing Pakistan. He asked how the Indian Government could hold talks with Mr Aziz on the infiltration issue when Army and Air Force personnel were being killed by Pakistan troops daily. "It is no diplomacy. The people will give answer to the failure of the foreign policy of Mr Vajpayee in the coming Lok Sabha elections", he remarked. Reacting to the statement of Defence Minister George Fernandes that the Pakistan Government was not involved in the infiltration, Mr Amarinder Singh said "Mr Fernandes is talking in vague terms. He is a big failure as Defence Minister and he should quit on his own". He pointed out that the Congress was satisfied with the performance of the armed forces in the Kargil sector and supported the forces in their fight against infiltrators. He said he did not approve of the 'bus diplomacy' of Mr Vajpayee and the bus service between Delhi and Lahore should be taken up after Pakistan gave up its anti-India stance. Where asked that whether he had entered into a 'secret deal' with Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, he said Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Mr Tohra and Mr Simranjit Singh Mann were chips of the same block and supported the movement of Khalistan by writing a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. He alleged that under the rule of Mr Badal farmers had been hard hit and they were not getting adequate fertilisers, pesticides, certified seeds and electricity. He pointed out that the
Congress was preparing an economic paper on Punjab and it
would be submitted to Dr Manmohan Singh and Dr Jairam
Ramesh for final touches. The economic paper would be
implemented when the Congress came to power in the state. |
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Air strikes fail to dampen
amity ABOHAR: Even when the Indian Air Force was repeating air strikes at high peaks of Kargil to flush out Pakistani infiltrators since Wednesday, a sense of bonhomie prevailed among the rival border rangers in the Sulemanki sector. This was the impression of newsmen visiting the international border with film director-cum-producer, Yogesh Chhabra, who had been honoured with the state award by the Punjab Government for his contribution to the promotion of Punjabi culture on May 26. Mr Chhabra was keen to witness the flag lowering ceremony at a joint checkpost by the BSF and Pakistan Rangers around sunset. On the way we found farmers busy sowing paddy ignoring the well-publicised advice of four former Vice-Chancellors of Punjab Agriculture University. A farmer when intercepted by this correspondent countered with a question: who reads newspapers in this remote border area, no employee of the state government had come to tell us that paddy should not be sown at this stage. Yogesh, who belongs to Sriganganagar, fulfilled his long-cherished desire to visit the Indo-Pakistan border. The forces were kind to allow him and some intellectuals. He had started his career at the Bollywood in 1971 after doing diploma from the Film Institute of India, Pune. He was given good roles in more than five dozen Hindi films and an equal number of Punjabi movies so far. He had to his credit Punjabi films like super box office hit "Sarpanch", "Mamla Gadbad Hai", "Jai Mata Sheran" and "Nimmo". He had directed "Deson Pardesh" and "Nain Preeto De". He was the producer of "Sau Saal Baad", "Jai Mata Sheran Wali" and "Wilaiti Babu". These days he is busy in directing "Bedaag Rishte" and has recently returned from its shooting abroad. Talking to newsmen near the border Yogesh looked disappointed over the callous attitude of the Punjab Government towards Punjabi films. He claimed that he was assured of a Rs 12 lakh grant for a Punjabi movie and shot the same near Hemkunt Saheb but the state government had not released the grant. He agreed that many new producers were exploiting the enthusiasm of young artistes keen to have a role in Punjabi movies but he said the state government should rely on genuine producers and directors who had devoted their whole life to the industry. If the southern states could keep the regional film industry alive why should the Punjab government, which claimed that it was wedded to promotion of Punjabi and Punjabiat, play a negative role? The genuine producers faced humiliation at the hands of government officers and distributors equally. This was why no good Punjabi movie had been screened in the recent past. The stage shows had become more paying than producing a Punjabi movie. Narrating his experience of foreign visits, Yogesh said non-resident Punjabis were now more concerned about their rich cultural heritage and mother tongue. That was why more and more shows of Punjabi artistes had been organised there to attract NRPs wards to Punjabi language and culture. For the artistes too it was a paying and enjoyable business. He felt that music relayed by foreign satellite channels would be short-lived because it did not give satisfaction to persons of Indian origin. The young generation was getting fed up with this movie. This was the right time for producing good Punjabi movies which could be seen jointly by families. I tell you the real problem with the producers was they still showed the hero wearing traditional kameez-chadar whereas practically even the rural youth driving a tractor in his field these days was wearing jeans and a bush-shirt. One has to go to the people to understand their real life and day-to-day problems. Then the movie should be planned. There should be no more recruitment of heroes able to spend money but having no telecast. The producers and directors must be fair and honest in their outlook. The black sheep had to be ousted from the Bollywood. Yogesh was thrilled to
watch the flag-lowering ceremony. People on the other
side of no-man's-land could recognise Yogesh as they had
enjoyed his film "Sarpanch on cable network in West
Punjab. It appeared to be an enjoyable evening for a
small crowd on both sides of the border. Although Indian
farmers visiting their fields across barbed wire looked
little tense (as they had faced eviction for 14 months
during 1971 war) but overall atmosphere was cordial as
nobody believed there could be a regular war between the
two countries even after air strikes in Jammu and
Kashmir. |
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News analysis CHANDIGARH, June 1 — Round one in the Akali tussle for supremacy is over. Ousted SGPC president, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, has formally launched his brand of Akali Dal. In this game, the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, controlling the levers of power, has established his lead. Today he not only leads the government, but heads the Akali Dal as well and controls the SGPC. This had never happened earlier. He is the most powerful Akali leader. While this position adds to his responsibilities, it also generates a lot of envy. Also, earlier he had to keep one Mr Tohra in good humour, now he has to please MLAs, members of the SGPC and a whole lot of district and tehsil-level Jathedars. The place at the top is indeed lonely and Mr Badal is not prepared to accept anyone to be his number two. Mr Tohra and Mr Badal have enjoyed a love hate relationship for long. When Mr Badal emerged as the leader of both the Akali Dal and the Janata Party and became the Chief Minister second time in 1977, he had to face the onslaught of Mr Tohra who was backed by the then Akali Dal President, Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi. Both of them went to Akal Takht with a host of allegations. These charges like what Mr Tohra is making now related to corruption, nepotism and filial concerns. No one till today knows what happened to these allegations and how much truth was there, but Mr Badal had to cool his heals for 17 long years till he emerged a leader, and once again became the Chief Minister. His performance in the last two elections was superb. The Akali-BJP combine won a massive majority in the Assembly and captured all the 13 Lok Sabha seats. But between his ouster in 1980 and coming to power now in 1997, Punjab went through many ups and downs. For years its farms were soaked with the blood of the innocent and its hearths had no fire. While violence ruled the roost, there were two spells of moderate politics. After the ouster of Mr Badal, the Akali Dal lost badly to the Congress and Mr Darbara Singh became the Chief Minister. Yet it was the cult of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale that ruled the scene for quite sometime till Sant Harchand Singh Longowal picked up courage and signed the historic Punjab accord. But this pushed the two opponents of the accord, Mr Badal and Mr Tohra to the wall and there emerged Mr Surjit Singh Barnala as the meek inheritor of the legacy of moderate competitive politics wedded to development. At that time Mr Tohra and Mr Badal became bosom friends, and not only saw the fall of Mr Barnala, but also emerged clear victors. And, it was at the Moga conference where the Akali Dal completely snapped itself from the maverick politics of violence and pledged to the moderate politics, with the slogan of Punjabiat and peace, justice and development that won Akalis resounding victories in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Two things are clear. One that there is no place for extremist politics and those who preach and practise so could at best claim a temporary halo. Look at the hero of 1989, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann. Second, those who came to power on the slogans of peace, justice and development have rarely fulfilled their promises and have been shown the door by the people. So the real threat which Mr Badal's party faces is not from Mr Tohra or from the Congress or any other combination, but from its inherent weakness and inability to deliver the goods as promised. The Akali Dal manifesto promised that it would give Punjab a corruption-free regime, a good government, all round development and also hold an impartial high level probe into the decade long violence. The idea was not to scratch the wounds and open a new deadly front, but to establish where and how the political masters went wrong and what steps would be required so that those gory days do not return. But Mr Badal publicaly bade goodbye. What one hears now is that the judicial probe would harm peace and corruption. Mr Badal is repeatedly expressing his helplessness. The socio-economic agenda, the Akali Dal adopted, is long forgotten. The spade of suicides and hapless farmers tell their own tales. The state's coffers have not enough to meet the minimum needs. Any decision to collect taxes is rolled back instantly. And many stories go round about why the decision to impose a particular tax was rescinded. So the real threat comes
from the government's inability to perform.
Interestingly, true to his wont, Mr Tohra at the Ludhiana
conference where his new party was born, failed to
present any coherent socio-economic programme. His aim is
to see that the Badal Akali Dal loses badly at the
hustings. In fact, the way Mr Badal is infusing a lot of
funds into the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency which his
son, Mr Sukhbir Singh represented in the dissolved Lok
Sabha, he feels threatened. What about other 12 seats? If
Mr Badal is unable to maintain his lead, his time too
would not be long. The coming months would unfold new
alignments and combinations and test Mr Badal's real
dexterity. |
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Teachers resent cut in salary BATALA, June 1 — Resentment prevails among nearly 10,000 employees of nearly 500 government-aided privately managed schools of Punjab against the Punjab government headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal because the government has issued an order to effect a cut in the salaries of these employees for the months of February 1999 to March 1999 on account of strike in these schools during this period on the basis of no-work-no-pay. A spokesman of the Government-Aided Privately Managed Schools Teachers Union Punjab Mr Darshan Singh said yesterday that the Punjab government letter No. 5/6-5 FC and GC 2210 issued to all district auditors concerned asked them to check the grants of these schools for the months from January 1, 1999 to March 1, 1999 and make appropriate cuts as per the strike period. A cut of nearly Rs 10,000/- for every employee is to be made by the Punjab government totalling more than Rs one crore. The leader said that their strike concluded as per the law. They added that it was agreed upon between the Punjab Government Education Secretary and the leaders of teachers union that no cut was to be made for the strike period. The union leaders on
their part had promised to make up the loss of teaching
time by putting in additional hours of work which they
later on did. |
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15-day ultimatum to Punjab
Govt CHANDIGARH, June 1 — The Punjab Mulazam Sangharsh Committee here today served a 15-day ultimatum on the Punjab Government to accept its demands or otherwise face an agitation at a rally attended by thousands of employees from all parts of Punjab. The committee also submitted a 14-point demand charter to the government. Mr Ranbir Dhillion, convener of the committee, said that the government had suspended the LTC and withdrawn free accommodation facility in case of employees posted in the Health, Police, Jails, Forest and other seven departments. The government had refused to give dearness allowance and bonus in case and raised the deduction of house rent from 5 to 10 percent. There was also a proposal to give house rent to one member of family. He said the report of the Anomaly Committee was ready but the government did not want to make it public, service of ad hoc employees had not been regularised and fees in colleges had been enhanced. Mr Dhillon said the
committee had urged the government to restore all the
withdrawn allowances other wise employees would start a
fast en masse at the district level from June 21 to 25
and also hold flag marches in July. The government was
delaying the implementation of all positive
recommendations of the Fourth Pay Commission. It had
opposed the handing over the 28 government departments to
zila parishads, he alleged . |
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Robbers’ gang busted LUDHIANA, June 1 — The police has claimed success in rounding up the members of a gang, which had been striking terror in the villages falling under police station Sadar and Jodhewal Basti. On May 13, the gang attacked Gounsgarh, Boothgarh, Susrali, and Rarh villages and stole gold and silver ornaments. On May 19, the same gang struck in Khasian Kalan and Bhamia Khurd villages and again looted gold ornaments at gun-point. The district police had deployed 10 police officials, along with, a force of 600 police personnel, for the purpose of preventing such robberies. The arrested gang
members are Billu, Santokh, Vijay, Chinda, Ashoki, Pappu
and Nacchhatar. Gold and silver ornaments worth Rs
1,30,375, along with, one three-wheeler and two pistols
have been recovered from them. |
||
Illuminations till June 15 AMRITSAR, June 1 — On public demand, the SGPC has decided that gurdwaras in Anandpur Sahib will remain illuminated till June 15. According to a press
note issued by the SGPC, the date for illumination of
gurdwaras has been extended in view of the summer
vacations in schools. |
||
Helmets must in Jalandhar JALANDHAR, June 1 — The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Som Parkash, has issued orders making wearing of helmets compulsory for two-wheelers' riders except turbaned Sikhs in the district with immediate effect as now the Supreme Court has vacated the interim stay granted earlier in this case. In this regard, a meeting under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, was held here yesterday to review the working of various department concerned in this context. The district administration also banned musical horns, red / blue lights on roofs of vehicles except otherwise authorised and black filming of glasses. The administration
directed all transport vehicles to carry a first aid box.
It also directed that parking places would be provided by
the authorities and vehicles parked otherwise would be
towed away. Sign boards, hoardings, advertisement boards
facing highways, main roads, said roads and lanes shall
be removed within one month and no unauthorised
construction, rehries and khokhas would be allowed 15
feet from the point where main road and pedestrian
sidewalk starts, the administration directed. |
||
Businessman alleges torture by
police PHILLAUR, June 1— A stabiliser manufacturer, Mr Ashish Aggarwal, was allegedly beaten up and threatened by the Noormahal police and was illegally detained for four hours at Noormahal police station in Phillaur subdivision today, because of his refusal to pay Rs 378 to certain Noormahal Nagar Council private octroi contractors for three voltage stabilisers, which were to be taken from Noormahal and for which trader was ready to give payment for a transit pass. Mr Aggarwal alleged that
the private contractors forcibly took him to the police
station and there he was tortured by both private
contractors and the Noormahal police. Mr Aggarwal alleged
that he had to pay money to the private contractors
because SHO Sucha Singh of the police station threatened
him with dire consequences. He had also complained to the
authorities concerned , including Deputy Director, Local
Bodies Department about the incident. |
||
Teachers want revised scales
notified MOGA, June 1 — An emergency meeting of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union held here yesterday and chaired by its state president Professor S.S. Hundal demanded that the notification regarding the revision of payscales of teachers of non-government affiliated colleges of Chandigarh be released immediately. Addressing the meeting
Mr Hundal said that Chandigarh was the only Union
Territory in the region where the new scales had not so
far been implemented. He urged the Union Territory
administration to amend the previous notification of
March 24, 1999. He added that the expression of private
affiliated aided colleges should be changed to private
affiliated so that the unaided colleges of the state be
brought under the purview. He also appealed the Punjab
Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal to implement the
April 20 agreement arrived at the meeting of the
representatives of management principals, federation
teachers and the government. |
||
Lack of funds hit development
work MOGA, June 1---All development work in this district has come to a standstill following paucity of funds. According to reports, about half a dozen community centres, foundation stones of which had been laid by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, the Agriculture Minister, Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, and the Union Minister for Industries, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, last year, have not been constructed so far. The foundation stones of four of six such centres have been demolished by some unscrupulous persons. Similarly work on a
stadium, the foundation stone of which had been laid by
Mr Parkash Singh Badal, last year, has not started as
yet. A mini secretariat which was proposed to be built
here last year has also not been built. |
||
Parked trucks traffic hazard MOGA, June 1 — Parking of trucks loaded with wheat belonging to various government procuring agencies in front of the rice mills on the Ludhiana-Ferozepore and Moga-Amritsar roads for the past one month has been causing inconvenience to travelling public and transporters. A number of accidents have taken place due to traffic congestion caused by parking of the trucks on the roads. Several truck operators have accused the police of collecting money from them by threatening to challan them. Meanwhile, huge stocks of wheat bags are lying at almost all purchasing centres in the district. Traders and farmers have urged the authorities to lift these stocks as early as possible. Farmers are also feeling
frustrated over the throwaway price of tomatoes in the
market. |
||
Ex-servicemen pay homage to
soldiers LUDHIANA, June 1 — A meeting of the block chairmen of the India Ex-services League, Punjab and Chandigarh, here on Sunday paid homage to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the recent clashes between the armed forces and Pakistani infiltrators in Kargil and Dras. Col H.S. Kahlon (VR C),
presided over the meeting and lauded bravery, devotion to
duty and professionalism of the Army and Air Force, while
dealing with the present situation. He also criticised
political leadership of the country for being incompetent
and showing lack of vision and national character. |
||
Acute water shortage in Bet
villages HOSHIARPUR, June 1
— There is an acute shortage of drinking water in
the Bet area of Hoshiarpur district due to which
residents of this area are facing lot of inconvenience.
Mr Adinash Rai Thana, secretary, BJP, Punjab, in a press
note here yesterday stated that he had visited more than
12 villages of the Bet area recently and found that
residents especially women had to spent more than half of
the day daily to procure drinking water. They have to
travel to from two to 5 km daily to fetch drinking water
in the area. He urged the district administration to take
steps to provide drinking water in the area. |
||
Protest against DC’s
transfer MOGA, June 1 — Various political parties including the BJP, the Akali Dal, the Janata Dal and also individuals including members of the Moga Club, traders and even journalists representing national press yesterday protested against the Punjab Government for transferring the Deputy Commissioner of Moga, Mr Kulbir Singh Kang, under political pressure. All of them condemned
the government for transferring competent and honest
officers like Mr Kulbir Singh Kang. Talking to reporters
yesterday the parties urged the government to look into
the matter and cancel his transfer orders immediately and
respect sentiments of the people of the town and area. |
||
Loud speakers banned after 11
pm MOGA, June 1 — The
District Magistrate, Moga, Mr Kulbir Singh Kang has
directed all marriage places in this district town not to
use the loud speakers after 11 p.m. with immediate
effect. He said it caused nuisance to the residents of
that areas and also affected the students. He has also
directed them to take permission for the use of loud
speakers in all marriage places. |
||
Call to declare Pakistan
‘terrorist state’ CHANDIGARH, June 1 — Mr Avtar Singh Brar, general secretary of the Congress Legislative Party in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mr Lakhwinder Singh, Chairman of the Backward Classes Cell of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) and Mr M.M. Cheema, Chairman of the Intellectual Cell of the PPCC in separate statements have urged the UN to declare Pakistan a terrorist state. Paying tributes to defence personnel who laid down their lives while protecting Indian borders, the Congress leaders said the union government should explain to the countrymen why infiltrations were allowed inside Indian territory from across the border for so long. Mr Cheema said by
killing fighter pilot Mr Ahuja in cold blood, the
Pakistan Government had violated the Geneva convention
and this issue should be taken to the International Court
of Justice. |
||
PPCC lauds EC action PATIALA, June 1 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress today lauded the Election Commission for reprimanding Ropar district police chief Jaskaran Singh for inappropriate conduct during the Adampur byelection when he was posted as SP, Zonal (CID), Jalandhar. In a statement here, PPCC General-Secretary Bir Devinder Singh demanded that the state government immediately comply with the Election Commission directions to transfer Mr Jaskaran Singh from his present posting. He said this was important to send the right signal in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Mr Bir Devinder Singh said the Congress had objected to the posting of Mr Jaskaran Singh as SSP, Ropar, and had pursued the matter vigorously since then. He said now with the Election Commission acting on the issue, it had become clear that officers violating the election code of conduct would not go scotfree. The state Congress had
accused Mr Jaskaran Singh of openly canvassing for Akali
Dal candidate Dalbir Singh Dhirowal during the Adampur
Assembly byelection. It had also urged the Election
Commission to ask the state government about the state of
an inquiry conducted against the officer and why no
action had been taken against him. |
||
Splinter group of AISSF forms
panel JALANDHAR, June 1 — The breakaway group of All-India Sikh Students Federation (Mehta) announced they formation of the Sikh Youth Federation here today. At a meeting held here today leaders of the breakaway group, Mr Bhupinder Singh Khalsa and Mr Sukhwinder Singh Khalsa, alleged that all AISSF leaders were overage and did not understand the demands and problems of the college and university students. They were more interested in grinding their own axe and getting political mileage, they alleged. Bhai Niranjan Singh
Khalsa has been elected President of the new federation,
while Bhai Bhupinder Singh Khalsa, Mr Sukhwinder Singh
Khalsa and Mr Inderpal Singh, have been elected senior
Vice-President and General Secretary, respectively. |
||
Martyrs' kin to be honoured on
June 6: Mann AMRITSAR, June 1 — Even as the SGPC chief, Bibi Jagir Kaur, has said June 6 would be observed as "Ghallughara divas" in memory of those killed in the infamous Operation Bluestar in 1984, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, President SAD (Amritsar), today said Bhai Ranjit Singh, sacked Akal Takht Jathedar, would honour families of 'martyrs' at Akal Takht on that day. Earlier, Mr Kulwant Singh, Secretary, SGPC had turned down the requests of Dal Khalsa International and the AISSF for allowing them to hold a function at Akal Takht on that day. Mr Mann gave a call to the Sikh "sangat" and the Sant Samaj to reach Akal Takht on June 16 saying Akal Takht belonged to all Sikhs and the SGPC had no locus standi to stop them from honouring families of 'martyrs'. Mr Mann also appealed to
the Dal Khalsa, the AISSF the human rights wing of the
SAD and all Akali factions (except the Badal Dal) to
reach Akal Takht that day. |
||
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