End vendetta politics, says Badal
Announces withdrawal of 2 cases against Capt
Chandigarh, October 1
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal seemed a young man again. He beat the Congress legislators in springing up from his seat to draw the attention of the Speaker at the start of zero hour to announce his acquittal in the disproportionate assets case besides announcing withdrawal of the two cases filed by him against former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Amarinder Singh is not pleased
Chandigarh, October 1
The former Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today shrugged off Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s gesture in withdrawing cases filed by the latter against him.

Beant Singh Case
Balwant says he tied the bomb on Dilawar
Chandigarh, October 1
Punjab’s then Chief Minister Beant Singh chose the time of his death. Appearing before Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Arvind Kumar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, convict in the assassination case Balwant Singh said they were waiting for him since 2 pm outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat on August 31, 1995. But he emerged only after 5 pm. “He himself was to decide the time of coming out”, Balwant Singh said.

Malerkotla, October 1
It was business as usual in this Muslim majority township today as all residents were unruffled post-Ayodhya verdict.

An octogenarian, Abdul Hameed, who has passion for Urdu poetry, summed up people’s love for peace. While coming out of Jamia Mosque after offering Friday prayers, he recited a verse: “Unka jo kaam hai who ehle siyasat jaane, mera paigam mohabbat hai jahan tak pahunche (It’s their (politicians) trade and they better take care of it, my message is love as far as it reaches).”

“It is not that politicians have made us to keep peace. It is our own choice and they had to fall in line since they knew people have left no scope for politicising the verdict,” he added.

Markets remained abuzz with activity and educational institutes as well as government offices worked normally. Over 120 mosques in this town witnessed Muslims in good numbers coming for Friday prayers and leaving peacefully.

“Every Friday, I go to Jamia Masjid. This Friday was special as despite of an anticipation of tension, Muslims of Malerkotla observed peace. Besides praying for myself, parents and others, I offered special prayers for peace in India”, says Muhammad Altaf, a student.

DC Harkesh Singh Sidhu said the administration had taken special steps for the peaceful Friday prayers. “We had already held meetings with majority of priests of mosques and asked them to exhort people to maintain peace. I appreciate people for maintaining peace and communal harmony,” he added.

Sangrur SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar said they had intensified patrolling in the town and had deployed policemen near religious places, especially mosques.

Malerkotla MLA Razia Sultana said her workers visited majority of mosques before prayers and held meetings with priests and citizens asking them to ensure peace in the town.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 1
Seven persons were killed and an equal number injured when rafters of an under-construction factory shed at Rishabh Spinning Mills situated on the outskirts of Jodhan village on the Ludhiana Pakhowal road came crashing down on them this afternoon.

The deceased include Portama Bai, Param Lal, Santosh, Koni Lal and Khajji Lal and the injured include Dhani Ram, Gopal, Sura Lal and Savitari.

Causalities could have been much more had about 12 labourers not saved their lives by running from underneath the collapsing structure.

Rescue operations were carried out under the supervision of Ludhiana (Rural) SSP Gursharan Singh Sandhu. The Jodhan police has registered an FIR against unknown managers of the project for causing death due to negligence. ADC SR Kaler has constituted a three-member committee to probe the matter.

According to Shankar Lal and Kamal Dass, who survived the mishap, a group of 28 labourers engaged by a private construction company was raising a temporary wall inside an under-construction factory shed.

Though the reason behind the mishap was yet to be ascertained, officials said the structure might have collapsed due to the poor quality of material and lack of technical know how as no technical person from the engineering wing of the mill was supervising the work before or at the time of the mishap.

Maintaining that preventive measures were supposed to be taken by the contractor, owners of the mill claimed that the labour law was not violated in connection with their permanent staff and labour.

Chandigarh, October 1
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal seemed a young man again. He beat the Congress legislators in springing up from his seat to draw the attention of the Speaker at the start of zero hour to announce his acquittal in the disproportionate assets case besides announcing withdrawal of the two cases filed by him against former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

The Chief Minister in his impromptu speech, which was received by thumping of desks by the treasury benches and silence from the Congress, went a step further by making a passionate plea for an end to what he called the politics of vendetta. “I fold my hands and request that new traditions be started,” he said, adding that he was taking the first step in this direction by withdrawing the cases he had filed against Amarinder.

The two cases filed by the Chief Minister include a defamation suit as well as a civil suit demanding damages of Rs 5 crore. He remarked tongue in cheek - if I do not take back the cases, I will get Rs 5 crore and the rest you know what will happen (possible punishment to Amarinder).

Saying he sincerely wanted to start another chapter, Badal claimed what had happened to him and his family was unprecedented in the political history of the country. “Even my wife was not spared,” he said, adding that he was, however, happy at the end of the day that a “black spot” had been removed.

Asking legislators what is it about Punjabis that they wanted to fight each other and even go for the jugular, he said people often accused him of colluding with his opponents but he had no problem in admitting that he always had good personal relations with them. Naming late President Giani Zail Singh and former Chief Minister Beant Singh, he said “we always respected each other”.

BJP legislature party leader and minister Manoranjan Kalia followed suit and while congratulating the Chief Minister on his acquittal, said the magnanimity shown by him would raise his political stature still further. Kalia reminded the Assembly that when the SAD-BJP government had come into being, it had announced that it would not resort to vendetta politics. “Badal sahab has proved this right,” he added.

The BJP leader, meanwhile, hoped that with the improvement in the political atmosphere, everyone would resort to a constructive approach to make Punjab the number one state again.

The Congress, however, refused to pick up the cue given by both the SAD and the BJP. When Congress legislators started getting up again to raise other issues, Kalia made another attempt by requesting former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Congress legislature party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal to make a statement on the issue. Both kept mum with Bhattal saying the party will speak on the issue later. Amarinder chose not to refer to the matter when he got up to initiate the debate on the economic agenda of the state.

Chandigarh, October 1
The former Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today shrugged off Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s gesture in withdrawing cases filed by the latter against him.

“What magnanimity,” was Amarinder’s reaction when questioned by TNS. He said Badal had not done him any favour by withdrawing the defamation as well as the civil suit filed against him. “The Ludhiana city scam and Mohali cases are still there,” he said, indicating that nothing had changed.

Amarinder also asserted that the Chief Minister had supervised vendetta against him after taking over the reins of the state. “How else can you term me being thrown out of the Assembly,” he said. The former CM went on to term Badal as very clever saying, “He says something and means something else.”

Amarinder also dumped the acquittal gained by the Badal family in the disproportionate assets case. “How can he claim he has won the cases?” he said, while asserting that “victory” had been gained after all 31 witnesses as well as the Investigating Officers had resiled.

Chandigarh, October 1
Punjab’s then Chief Minister Beant Singh chose the time of his death.

Appearing before Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Arvind Kumar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, convict in the assassination case Balwant Singh said they were waiting for him since 2 pm outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat on August 31, 1995. But he emerged only after 5 pm. “He himself was to decide the time of coming out”, Balwant Singh said.

Facing the gallows, Balwant Singh also created a flutter by saying he had with his own hands tied the explosive around Dilawar Singh, the “human bomb” who had triggered off the blast.

Balwant Singh was brought to the high court after he expressed the desire to appear in person in pursuance to a query whether he wanted to counsel to defend himself. For ensuring his safety, his arrival was kept a closely guarded secret and the court convened at 9 am, an hour before the scheduled time.

Balwant Singh claimed he was accompanying Bhai Dilawar Singh on the fateful day. “I tied the bomb on the person of Bhai Sahib with my own hands and I do not regret my involvement in the murder. I am proud of the sacrifice made by him,” he asserted.

Refuting the CBI’s claim that they chose 5 pm to trigger off the blast to cause the maximum damage, Balwant Singh said the agency was “trying to hold them responsible for the murder of innocents”. The general public was not their target.

He also criticised the defence for denying the existence of the “human bomb”. “The contention that it is not a case of human bomb is making a mockery of the sacrifice made by Dilawar Singh. The CBI’s contention that some other persons inspired him to become a human bomb too is wrong. He was inspired due to intense feelings for his community”.

Reserving the verdict on the appeals filed by the convicts through counsel Baldev Singh, Justice Gill asserted: “We told Balwant Singh that as per the law we are ready to provide him with an amicus curiae or if he wanted to engage his counsel, he is free to do so and we are ready to hear his version through his counsel. But he has declined to be assisted.”

Amritsar, October 1
After languishing in several jails of Punjab for over a decade for mistaken identity as a Pakistani, Wasil Khan (43) at last succeeded in establishing that he was an Indian.

The district administration today received orders from Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Mehtab Singh Gill for releasing him. In the presence of the city magistrate and his family members, the authorities of the Amritsar Central jail released him.

After furnishing the requisite formalities, Khan said though he had grudges against certain state police officials for implicating him in false cases, still the day was an occasion for him.

“Today’s occasion is nothing less than Eid for me. Though late, I was confidently waiting for this decision. Now I will go back to my native village Nekerdehi in Bihar,” he said, adding that: “I will later think about seeking justification for my unlawful confinement on false pretexts by certain state police officials.”

His sister Mohazra Khatoon and brother-in-law Shaahid Raza Khan, who came to receive him, were also on cloud nine. “I cannot ask for more at this moment as I am meeting my brother after over a decade,” said Mohazra Khatoon.

Shaahid Raza Khan, an advocate, said they had not yet decided to move the court for seeking action against the guilty police officials.

It was a sheer incident of mistaken identity that came to light during the counselling sessions held in the Amritsar jail in August, where he was last lodged as one of the interns with other 52 Pakistan nationals, who had allegedly entered India illegally.

Deputy jail superintendent Balbir Singh said all cases registered against him had been quashed. “When we came to know about his controversial identity, we brought it to the notice of DC KS Pannu, who further initiated to inquire about his identity through judiciary,” he said.

Reportedly not in the sound state of mind then, Wasil Khan was sent to various jails since 2002 and was tagged as Pakistani in FIRs. According to the police, as many as 11 cases had been registered against him, some of which were of very serious nature. He served four-year term in the Hoshiarpur jail, three months in Ludhiana and about eight years in the Nabha Jail.

Chandigarh, October 1
The Punjab government has decided to set up a separate cadre of schoolteachers for service in border areas and the kandi belt. In response to a call-attention notice moved by Akali MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha, Cabinet Minister for Education Dr Upinderjit Kaur today told the House that the separate cadre would have teachers who would serve exclusively in schools in these areas and would also be transferred within the area only.

In his call-attention notice, Valtoha told the House that there was always a shortage of teachers who wanted to serve schools in border areas and there were several vacancies of teachers in the government schools.

He added that the demand for a separate cadre for border area teachers had been pending for some time.

The minister added that a similar shortage of teachers was being felt in the schools in the kandi belt also, due to which it had been decided to have a separate cadre for these areas. She added that the modalities for the constitution of the cadres were being worked out by the Department of School Education.

Concerned over the growing vulgarity in Punjabi songs being shown on television channels, Valtoha moved a call-attention notice in the House stating that the Punjabi songs were full of vulgarity and glorified use of weapons and drugs.

Responding to the notice, the Minister for Cultural Affairs said the state government had constituted a committee of intellectual and scholars which would guide the state government in how the state can preserve its cultural values and traditions.

Chandigarh, October 1
The Congress today staged a walkout from the Vidhan Sabha protesting against the passing of the Punjab Special Security Group Bill, 2010, terming it as a draconian law that violates human rights and gives unfettered powers to the state police. Just before the walkout, the state Assembly had passed 12 other Bills, including those dealing with hike in the salaries of the legislators and ministers. In all, the Vidhan Sabha passed 15 Bills in a span of one hour and 20 minutes.

Most of the legislative business was going on peacefully, but when it came to the Punjab Special Security Group Bill, 2010, Capt Amarinder Singh said he wanted to debate the Bill. He said the Bill was not only draconian, but violated Articles 19, 13 and 14 of the Constitution and violated human rights. He pointed out that anyone booked under this act would have no recourse to legal remedy and could be held in illegal detention for long.

He said there was no need for a law like this in Punjab, especially at a time when other states were trying to take away unbridled powers to the security forces. This law, he said, was just like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir. He questioned the rationale for bringing such a Bill in Punjab that was very peaceful. He added that this law, which was non-bailable, would give unlimited powers to the police.

Capt Amarinder Singh questioned Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as to how he could allow such a Bill to be tabled when Badal had himself launched agitations against Emergency, MESA and COFEPOSA. 

Chandigarh, October 1
The Punjab Vidhan Sabha Pollution Control Committee, which had visited Scotland in July to study methods being adopted by the Scots to prevent pollution, while lauding the working of the Scottish Environment Protection Authority, has indicted the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) for failing to do its duty.

An 11-member Vidhan Sabha committee, including legislators from the SAD, Congress as well as the BJP, had first visited various distilleries in the state and followed this up with a visit to Scotland to study the distilleries there.

The committee, which tabled its report in the Assembly today, recommended that the Scottish model could be followed to remove all problems coming in the way of removing pollution in distillery operations in Punjab in six months.

The report claims that the PPCB was neither checking the distilleries nor enforcing laws, which could prevent pollution being spread by them. It has claimed that PPCB officials have colluded with entrepreneurs running distilleries in the state and that the officials had even prepared reports as per the wishes of the distillery owners. The committee has recommended action against such officials.

The committee has also recommended departmental action against the Member, Secretary of the PPCB who is said to have made comments against the “honour” of the committee. The Member, Secretary had denied a statement made by a committee member that ground water had been polluted along a radius of several kilometres around four distilleries.

The report has also taken on the owners of the distilleries and claims that though they have installed devices to control pollution, they do not run them to save electricity. It claims that the entrepreneurs do not bother about laws and are releasing their untreated effluent regularly into nearby drains.

Listing the problems caused by the distilleries, the report notes that people living nearby had reported eye ailments to the committee. Besides, the report states ash being emitted by the chimneys of the distilleries was polluting animal fodder. It maintains ground water around the distilleries had also become polluted.

Talking about the Scottish trip, the committee noted that there was neither any bad smell around any distillery in Scotland nor any trace of effluents in nearby areas. It said all distilleries looked like resorts with lush gardens and orchards situated in their complexes. It said the Scottish Environment Protection Authority, which was enforcing laws stringently in the country, as well as technologists associated with the authority were responsible for this state of affairs.

Among those distilleries checked by the committee include Patiala distilleries (Maine), Chandigarh distillery (Banur), Piccadily distillery (Patran), Jagatjit Industries (Hameera), AB Sugar (Hoshiarpur), AB Grains Spirit (Batala), Pioneer distilleries (Gurdaspur), Khasa distilleries (Amrtisar) and Rana Sugar (Tarn Taran).

Chandigarh, October 1
After having virtually forced the Vidhan Sabha Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon to allow time for a debate involving issues concerning Punjab, the Congress failed to corner the ruling alliance on the floor of the House. Even as the House witnessed a fierce debate between the treasury benches and the Opposition, it was Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who was well prepared to counter all accusations.

Even as most Opposition leaders ran out of patience, the octogenarian Chief Minister made sure that he held the attention of the Opposition by being at his satirical best. Though he mainly highlighted the achievements of his government during the past three and a half years, his offer to end political vendetta in the state did not evoke much response from the Congress benches.

The most significant part of the debate, however, was the financial issues raised by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. The Finance Minister made it clear that despite any amount of revenue generation by Punjab, the state will remain in debt if the financial liabilities on the state in the form of debt remain.

He told the House that the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukerjee, had promised to help Punjab with a debt-waiver, provided Punjab assured the Centre in writing of adopting a long-term “financial road map” for Punjab. He appealed to the House to sign a “consensual financial road map” in which all three political parties were signatories, so that the Centre can be assured about the continuity in the state’s financial policy.

He said he had secured an assurance from the Centre for revitalising Punjab’s economy. “The Centre is willing to give Punjab about Rs 5 or 6 billion rupees to help it get over its debt, but for that Punjab must show its inclination to get out of the debt trap. Manpreet rebutted every issue of financial mismanagement raised by Capt Amarinder Singh, who initiated the debate, or CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who spoke her mind on various issues.

Capt Amarinder Singh lashed out at the SAD-BJP alliance saying that the government was selling public property to pay salaries, the growth rate of the state was at an all-time low and much lower than the neighbouring states.

Patiala, October 1
A 20-member Thapar University Formula Hybrid Team will participate in the Formula Electric and Hybrid Italy Competition to be held at Torino circuit (Italy) on October 7. The collegiate design competition is dedicated to alternative propulsion vehicles.

Giving details, one of the team members, Shiv Karan Mokha, said the team was the only one from Asia to participate in the competition. “Our team has also achieved the distinction of becoming India's first team to build a hybrid racing car,” he claimed.

Talking about the car, team head Kartik Gaur said it took four months to build it. The car runs on electric power and is also engine driven with a 20-Horsepower engine. “The car can attain maximum speed of 130-km per hour,” he said.

“The team aims at innovations for the future through passion and dedication, while creating a prosperous society that respects environment. For the team, it is not just about participating in international competition, but aiming at developing technologies for the world as well,” team members stated. — TNS

Patiala, October 1
As per the guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to curb the ragging menace in educational institutions, Thapar University, Patiala, has directed its students to submit two affidavits, one by the student stating she/he will not indulge in any act that could be constituted as ragging and the other to be given by the parents, stating that their ward would not indulge in ragging.

The hostlers and day-scholars are required to submit the affidavits to their respective hostels and the departments concerned before October 11. The affidavits will also mention that if their ward is found guilty of ragging, he/she will be liable for punishment. The guidelines for the affidavit have been provided to the students and also uploaded on the university website.

Director, Thapar University, Abhijit Mukherjee said this decision had been taken to curb the ragging menace and promote the welfare of the students. Dean of Students Affairs Seema Bawa said directions had been issued to ensure that the students submit the required affidavit.

Alisha, a student, said, “The decision of the university is aimed at all-round safety of the students, particularly girls.” Gursimran Singh, another student, said there was nothing wrong in taking affidavits from the students and their parents.

Patiala, October 1
Legal Aid Clinics would be opened in the villages of Patiala to provide free legal aid. District and Sessions Judge cum-Chairman, District Legal Services Authority, Varinder Kumar said the clinics would provide free legal aid consultancy services to the litigants of the surrounding villages.

The legal aid clinics are a state-level project, aimed at providing legal consultation to those, who are either apprehensive of legal procedures or are not conversant with the process-flow of filing litigations. Varinder said in the first phase, legal aid clinics would be opened at the block level and clusters of the villages would be formed. “The inhabitants of particular cluster of villages will get the free legal aid at the clinic of their respective block”, he added.

Varinder also said five such clinics were opened in Patiala and Rajpura on a pilot project basis. “The results are positive and these clinics have brought the desired results. Hence, it has been decided to open such clinics in the entire district”, he said. Varinder has asked for the list of Patiala lawyers from the Patiala Bar Association president Jatinder Singh. The Patiala Bar Association will be providing voluntary services to the legal aid clinics.

Varinder further informed that seminars and camps would be organised to create awareness regarding the services being provided at the legal aid clinics. “Soon, a helpline will be started at the district level so that people can get information about the services being offered at legal aid clinic”, he added.