Kapurthala, July 3
Mr Sukhpal Singh Khaira’s recent appointment as the District Congress Committee chief may be considered as a blow to arch-rival, the Jalandhar MP, Mr Rana Gurjit Singh, but it would not be a cakewalk for the former due the open factionalism in the district Congress.

Differences between the two Congress leaders came out in the open with both publicly issuing statements against each other some months back.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr Khaira admitted that he would have to face a number of challenges now that the Assembly elections were round the corner.

According to political analysts, Khaira’s biggest challenge will be to unite all factions, particularly Rana.

Admitting that several factions existed in the district Congress, he said he would try to bring all the factions together to strengthen the party.

The DCC chief said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief had given him two weeks to constitute the district body. Mr Khaira promised to give proper representation to the Congress MLAs from the district, Mr Joginder Singh Mann (Phagwara) and Ms Sukhjinder Kaur (Kapurthala). He vowed to put the party affairs in order in the Sulanpur Lodhi constituency where the Congress candidate had joined the Shiromani Akali Dal, he added.

Kapurthala district is an Akali stronghold. In the last Assembly elections in 2002, the Congress managed to wrest two seats (Kapurthala and Phagwara) from the Akalis, who had won all the four Assembly seats in 1997.

It may not be easy for the ruling Congress to perform well in the forthcoming elections in the district, especially due to the anti-incumbency factor. However, Mr Khaira claimed that there would be no anti-incumbency wave.

Meanwhile, the PPCC President, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, appointed Mr Ram Rattan (VP) and Mr Inderjit Singh Basarke (GS) in charge of the Kapurthala district Congress affairs.

Mr Rana Gurjit Singh today admitted that he had helped former SGPC President and SAD leader Bibi Jagir Kaur during the last Assembly elections in 2002. Addressing a public gathering at Shagun Palace soon after Mr Khaira took charge, he claimed that Mr Khaira had helped the former Transport Minister and SAD leader, Mr Raghubir Singh.

Mr Khaira denied the charge, adding that Mr Rana Gurjit Singh might have a misunderstanding on the issue.

Bibi Jagir Kaur was a SAD candidate against Mr Khaira from the Bholath constituency while Mr Raghbir Singh contested the last Assembly elections in 2002 and by-election in 2004 against Mr Rana Gurjit Singh and his sister-in-law, Ms Sukhjinder Kaur, respectively from the Kapurthala constituency.

Today both of them announced to work together for the betterment of the Congress. Terming the differences unfortunate, Mr Rana Gurjit Singh said they would now fight against the Akalis instead of fighting against each other.

Jalandhar, July 3
The district police is going to take “strict” action against all unscrupulous and unauthorised travel agents whop are duping innocent youths on the pretext of sending them abroad. Directions in this regard were today issued to all the SSPs by the DIG, Police(Jalandhar Range), Mr Paramjit Singh Gill.

The DIG said a campaign had been launched in Jalandhar for the arrest of 151 Proclaimed Offenders and illegal travel agents with directions to get the property of the accused attached under Section 83 of the CrPC. He added that 190 cases had already been registered and in the last six months, 138 travel agents had been arrested.

Mr Gill said the orders were issued in the wake of an ongoing campaign against fake travel agents by Lok Bhalai Party.

The party, headed by Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, had presented cases of hundreds of youths from the region whom travel agents had left stranded in Algeria, Morocco and the Middle East.

The party leaders had furnished list of such youths who had been sent to Algeria but were now stuck in Morocco in inhuman conditions hiding from the police since they were on fake documents. Parents of several missing youth have now aligned with the party.

Meanwhile, the Kapurthala police today arrested a travel agent, Rajendra from Mehtabgarh locality here for allegedly cheating a person. The police said the accused had taken Rs eight lakh as advance from one Sukhdev Singh from Dashmesh Colony in 2004 on the promise of sending him to New Zealand.

Jalandhar, July 3
After some blazing heat in the night, and the resultant rain in the day, roads in the city were under water again. No efforts to keep the drainage system working ahead of monsoons were visible. There was only dirty rain water and rolled up trousers.

Public places including the District Administrative Complex (DAC), SSP Office, the Inter State Bus Stand and the district courts were deluged. The low-lying road leading to the main gate of the DAC and the SSP Office had water one to two feet deep. It remained standing there till late evening.

Visitors to the government offices in front of the DAC, including those of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and PUDA too had to wade through dirty water.

The part of Ladowali Road near the Government Polytechnic for Women where counselling for CET was on, also inundated, causing inconvenience to hundreds of candidates and their parents.

The bus stand, under renovation, was swamped.

Puddles of water had formed here and there, causing harassment to the daily commuters.

Areas of Model Town turned muddy, the rain water flowing briskly in temporary rivulets.

Several cars and two-wheelers were seen stranded on the roadsides. The water had choked the engines.

But auto service units had a good day. They got a good clientele, all seeking vehicle repairs.

Not only stagnating water, the shower also left behind an invisible rain of humidity. Its keeping the residents wet, without a rain.