M A I N   N E W S

Punjab Cong men cane-charged
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 17 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Capt Amarinder Singh, eight MLAs, two MPs and 655 party activists, cane-charged following an attempt to break police barricades to stage a dharna against paddy compensation outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s residence, were today arrested by the city police. They were subsequently released by the Subdivisional Magistrate (Central), Mr Pirthi Chand.

Five persons, including three police officials, sustained “minor injuries” in the clash near the Housing Board roundabout.

Talking to The Tribune after being taken into custody, Capt Amarinder Singh, however, claimed that at least 60 to 70 of their workers, including a former sarpanch and women activists, were injured in the cane charge.

The arrested persons included MP Gurcharan Singh Galib and Charanjit Singh Channi, besides MLA Harminder Singh Jassi, former minister Partap Singh Bajwa, vice-president of the Punjab Youth Congress Gurkirat Singh and senior leader Kuljeet Singh Nagra.

The police, according to Assistant Superintendent of Police (Central) Sagarpreet Hooda, was forced to lob tear-gas shells and use water cannon at the protesters after they indulged in stone throwing upon being stopped from breaking the barricades.

Earlier during the day, nearly 5,000 Congress workers gathered at the roundabout to protest against the “fraud committed on the state’s farmers”. Just as they tried to break the barricades, the police targeted them with water cannon and tear-gas shells. Provoked by the attack, the demonstrators took to stone throwing following which the police resorted to a “mild cane charge”.

The demonstrators were later arrested under Sections 107 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code and taken to the Sector 17 Police Station. Within minutes, hundreds of party workers reached the police station and courted arrest.

While Capt Amarinder Singh described the Rs 350 crore paddy relief package as “inadequate”, the party MP from Faridkot, Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, said it was a “welcome step”.

This was despite the two participating in the protest demonstration at “Matka Chowk” here.

Capt Amarinder Singh said the five kisan organisations concerned would later “regret” their decision to “withdraw” the agitation. Mr Brar said the news of the Centre stepping in and restoring the “cut” in the minimum support price and of an additional relief of Rs 100 crore to compensate paddy farmers had sent cheer through the mandis. “The purchase has picked up in the key mandis like Khanna”, he added.

The party chief defended today’s protest over the paddy muddle and denied it was a “delayed” reaction. The party MP said the announcement of the “relief package” on Sunday had blunted the impact of the protest held today. While Capt Amarinder Singh said the party had been holding district-level demonstrations and protests in the past, Mr Brar said, “Protests should have been better organised and even today’s protest held earlier”.

The two leaders’ diametrically opposite views mirror the internal conflict and contradictions of the Congress.

Capt Amarinder Singh, at his press conference before he led the march to “Matka Chowk”, asked the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to come out with a White Paper on the paddy crisis. He estimated that the financial loss suffered by farmers was to the extent of Rs 1,000 crore. Punjab did not have the money to compensate the farmers and the entire gambit was mere “eyewash”.

Punjab was a cash-starved state. No one wanted to give it credit, he added.

He wanted the government to take into account the distress sale of paddy by farmers prior to the cut-off date, September 21, and the quantity sold in neighbouring Haryana districts. At least five districts, Ferozepore, Mansa, Bathinda, Sangrur and Patiala, border Haryana.

Mr Brar, on the other hand, said what Punjab had received by way of relief could not be wished away or criticised for the sake of criticism. As official procurement commenced from September 21, farmers who had sold approximately 14 lakh tonnes of paddy — much below the MSP — were to be compensated. Care had to be taken that the relief money was disbursed in a judicious manner and went into the “right pockets” without cuts, he added.

The lesson one had to learn, Mr Brar said, was to evolve a permanent mechanism to ensure that when faced with a bumper harvest, as at present, such a crisis did not re-emerge. There had to be a long-term perspective on the marketing of foodgrains.

The pain and suffering, physical and psychological, undergone by the farmers had to be understood and mitigated through sound policies keeping in mind the impending World Trade Organisation regime ahead. “Let politics-led policies take a back seat in the larger interest of Punjab’s peasantry”, he emphasised.

Capt Amarinder Singh also mentioned the “deaths” that took place. He endorsed the example of a farmer who committed “suicide” in a village falling in the Patiala Lok Sabha constituency, which was cited by his wife, Mrs Preneet Kaur, who represents that area. The state Congress chief’s apprehension was that the problem of plenty might result in a “depression” if farmers were given similar treatment during the wheat marketing season next April. “The government should announce its wheat policy now”, he demanded.

The Congress also espoused the cause of those growers who had heaped common varieties of paddy in the mandis. That was not being taken up for purchase, he pointed out.

Killings assume political hue
From K.C. Dutt
Tribune News Service

KARNAL, Oct 17 — The ghastly killing of five persons in Chandrao village in this district over a fortnight back seems to have taken political overtones. Fifteen persons were also injured in the firing opened by a party that had gone there to plough over 150 acres of land belonging to the village panchayat.

In the initial stages the police and the parties involved had presented it as a land dispute case. When the FIR was lodged, the name of Mr Tejender Pal Singh Maan, a former Haryana minister in the Bhajan Lal Cabinet, and his two sons did not figure.

But after investigations, the names of Mr Maan and his two sons were added under Section 120-B (conspiracy to murder) Mr Maan was arrested by the Karnal police and sent to a judicial lock-up for a fortnight.

It was alleged by family members of Mr Maan that not only he was maltreated during interrogation by the police, but his wife, Mrs Pushpa Maan, also given a rough treatment at the Civil Lines police station of Karnal. Mrs Maan, who stayed with her husband till the wee hours of the morning, returned home to tell her tale of woes to the family supporters.

Mr Tehender Pal Singh Maan and his sons are already facing charges in cases registered by the Karnal police on complaints made by his younger brother. Both brothers have shared a common accommodation since decades, but they now have turned bitter foes.

The Karnal district police chief, Mr Attar Singh Ahlawat, maintains that there is no political angle to the registration of the case against Mr Maan regarding the Chandrao killings. The conspiracy charge has been levelled against him after due investigations, he maintains. It had been found that a day before the killings the deceased, Jeet Singh of Phoosgarh village, who had gone with armed supporters to plough the land, had met Mr Maan at his residence along with his supporters. The police maintains that a conspiracy was hatched to kill innocent residents of the village.

But it seems that the police theory of conspiracy suffers from chinks. Mr Maan maintains that on the day of killings and prior to that he was on a visit to his constituency i.e. Pai in Kaithal district. Even residents of Chandrao maintain that Mr Maan and his two sons had little role to play in the firing. In fact, a number of villagers blame Mr Parminder Singh Maan, popularly known as Pammi, for the dispute in the village as the deceased, Jeet Singh, was friendly with Pammi, Interestingly, Pammi Maan is the main accused in the FIR. A Gypsy belonging to his family was used in the incident to carry armed supporters of Jeet Singh to the firing site.

It is amazing that the police has not so far touched Mr Pammi Maan. Even his whereabouts are not being investigated by the police. It is believed that Mr Pammi Maan has links with political families, including that of Mr Parkash Singh Badal and BJP leaders. Mr Pammi Maan joined the BJP some times before the Assembly elections in Haryana.

But the police says he will be arrested in due course.

The Congress has begun to mount pressure for the release of Mr Tejinder Singh. His supporters, including residents of Chandrao village are on a dharna in front of the district courts’ here.

Senior Congress leaders, including Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala and Mr Nirmal singh, held a procession in Karnal on October 13 for the release of Mr Maan.

Both Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Bhupender Singh Hooda have paid lip sympathy to Mr Maan so far. The Karnal DCC has kept itself away from all forms of protest. The DCC is controlled by supporters of Mr Hooda.

Despite the demand for an independent CBI inquiry into the case, the state government has so far shied away from issuing any statement. It is a known fact that the families of Mr Tejender Pal Singh Maan and the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, have been at logger-heads since the seventies when Mr Mahender Singh Lather, a former MP and son-in-law of Mr Sahib Ram, elder brother of Mr Devi Lal, fought the byelection for the Karnal Parliamentary seat in 1978.

It was a prestigious byelection both for Mr Devi Lal and the Janata Party which was in power at the Centre led by Mr Morarji Desai. It was also a question of prestige for Mrs Indira Gandhi who was keen to stage a political comeback after the 1977 poll debacle.

During the election, Mr Maan had supported the congress candidate, Mr Chiranji Lal, despite pleas by supporters of Mr Devi Lal and Mr Maan. Interestingly, Mr Maan has remained a diehard supporter of both Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Surjewala but languishing in the Karnal jail now Mr Bhajan Lal seems to have forgotten him.