Punjab farmers’ role in Ethiopia hailed
Patiala, January 29
Preneet Kaur, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, who led the Indian delegation to the African Union Summit held at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, addressed the Ministerial Executive Council Plenary Session there yesterday.

Patiala, January 29
In a threat mail against four politicians of Punjab and a religious leader, a terror organisation, the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), today threatened to eliminate them all for their activities of “acting as a hurdle against the setting up of the Khalistan movement”. While the police has started investigations in the case, there are limited clues with them.

The email, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, says a BJP leader from Ludhiana, Satpal Gosain, Beas MLA Manjinder Singh Kang, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Youth Akali Dal (Longowal) chief Ranjit Singh Nikkra and former Deputy Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Bir Devinder Singh have been threatened to be eliminated.

According to the mail, sent to a few scribes in the region, the BKI has challenged that they have decided to reorganise their group and for that they would recruit 1,000 unemployed youth in the state. “They would be given training and educated Sikhs would be picked for this job,” BKI claims in the mail.

A senior police officer investigating into the case stated that the IP address of the mail was being ascertained. “We have formed a special team to crack the case,” he added.

Interestingly all those mentioned in the email are having security concerns and barring a couple the rest have already approached various authorities, including court, to get back their security cover.

Amritsar, January 29
High drama prevailed outside Bhai Gurdas Hall today when HSGPC (ad hoc) chief Jagdish Singh Jhinda reached there in the afternoon to address a press conference only to find the gates of the premises locked and the police and SGPC task forcedeployed there.

Standing amid waiting mediapersons, Jhinda rang up SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and said that he, being a member of the SGPC, should be allowed to address the media in the hall. Lamenting that the people accompanying him have not been allotted adequate rooms at SGPC’s sarais (inns), he asked Makkar not to "resort to dictatorship". Later, the gates of the venue were unlocked following Makkar’s intervention.

Addressing the media, Jhinda said he along with his supporters would hold a path of Sukhmani Sahib and perform ardas at Sri Akal Takht tomorrow for the formation of a separate gurdwara committee in Haryana. "We have lost faith in the political parties -- either it is the SAD in Punjab or the Congress in Haryana. Even the SGPC chief has not paid heed to our grievances. Now, we only have faith in the Almighty," he averred, claiming that representatives of Singh Sabhas and other religious organisations from 20 states, including Haryana, would also join him in holding the path tomorrow.

Jhinda said he had set up Sarab Pardesh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on January 1 by including representatives from 20 states of the country in it. The committee headed by him comprises of 41 members. While Inderjit Singh Chugh is the general secretary of the committee, Jhinda claimed that DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna is its patron. The committee will have its head office at Rakab Ganj in New Delhi and a sub-office at Sector 27 in Chandigarh. He said he would soon get the committee registered, besides framing a separate constitution for it.

Meanwhile, interacting with the media here late last evening, Sarna said the DSGMC had decided to facilitate land for extension of canteen facility 
and proper roads at Dera Baba Nanak.

Taking on the SGPC, Sarna said he was ready for a probe into the accounts of gurdwaras and educational institutions being run by the DSGMC, but the SGPC "is running away from a similar investigation which hints that all is not well". He accused Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of hampering the resolution of issues concerning Sikhs. "They are exploiting even the SGPC to achieve this aim," he charged. 

Ludhiana, January 29
Even as the state government claims to have cleared the blacklist of Punjabi NRIs, many names are yet to be deleted from the list.

Stating this here today, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna said, only 26 names have been deleted out of a total of 154.

Sarna, who was in city today to attend a function, said the rest of the NRIs were finding it difficult to visit home. They were either denied visa and if they were finally allowed they were harassed at the airports.

Sarna led a delegation, which met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a fortnight ago and asked him to look into the matter.

“The PM has promised that he would soon ask the ministry concerned to get those name deleted after consulting the state government again,” claimed Sarna.

He said the delegation also took up the issue of implementation of the Anand Marriage Act and granting citizenship to Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan who have been living here for past 12 years. Alleging that these people are being discriminated against, Sarna said as per rules citizenship is granted after five years of living in India.

“We also gave a representation to the PM about implementation of the Anand Marriage Act. He assured an early action,” said Sarna.

Speaking about the Youth Akali Dal rally held here yesterday, Sarna said Akalis could not even gather masses as many chairs were empty while several chairs had been occupied by members of the migrant community. Showing pictures to corroborate his claim, Sarna said even the food prepared for the participants was disposed off in ganda nullah instead of distributing it to the poor.

Patiala, January 29
Preneet Kaur, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, who led the Indian delegation to the African Union Summit held at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, addressed the Ministerial Executive Council Plenary Session there yesterday. Giving this information, MP Singh, additional private secretary to Preneet stated that during the session, foreign ministers of 53 African countries and observer countries, including Australia, Denmark and Japan were present.

“On the sidelines of the summit, Preneet held bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of around 20 countries, including South Africa, Ethiopia, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Burundi and Libya, amongst others. Preneet also called on Hailemariam Desalegn, who is Deputy Prime Minister as well as the Foreign Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,” Singh said.

Dibbipura (Jalalabad), January 29
Former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal vowed to provide governance free of corruption, goondaism and violence, if voted to power in the next Assembly elections in the state.

He was addressing a rally as part of Jago Punjab Yatra today. Dr Raj, block samiti member and SAD (B) leader, was the organiser of the rally. “If given a chance, I will cleanse the system. There will be no poverty and no unemployment in Punjab. The residents will not be deprived of the basic amenities.”

Badal is likely to float a new party at a function to be organised as part of Jago Punjab Yatra at Khatkar Kalan on March 23, the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

Dr Raj, who commands considerable influence in Rai Sikh community, has joined hands with Manpreet Badal after developing serious differences with Ferozepur MP, Sher Singh Ghubhaya.

Badal while addressing the rally in Jalalabad Assembly segment, which is represented by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, said Punjab lagged behind in all spheres of development due to heavy debt.

He said he holds no grudge against former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab, Sukhbir Badal.

His only agenda is to make Punjab regain its economic glory.

“Parties, which ruled Punjab for 64 years yet could not provide basic amenities to its people, do not deserve to rule it again,” he said.

He claimed that a number of elected members of Zila Parishad, Block Samitis and panchayats had joined Jago Punjab Yatra today.

Patiala, January 29
Following numerous criminal and terrorist acts, the police is yet to initiate a drive to verify tenants staying in the city without the police verification. While the district administration has launched a verification drive for migrants, time and again, they have failed to check the number of unidentified tenants in the city and surrounding areas.

While recent orders to check the movement of unidentified migrant workers have been passed, the police is yet to verify the persons staying at rented houses and paying guests. In a recent order, the Patiala Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate has passed written orders for verification of migrants, outside Punjab and from other districts, in the nearest police station within 15 days. Orders in this regard have already been issued for compliance.

Sources confirmed that in July 2010, the Patiala police had arrested an accused in the Nabha and Halwara bomb planting cases, who was allegedly a member of the Khalistan Liberation Force. Then SSP Patiala RS Khatra had instructed all SHOs posted in the district to ascertain the credentials of people staying as paying guests and on rent. “However, nothing more was done in this as cops failed to check the tenants staying in Patiala,” the sources said. Interestingly, the accused Pargat was putting up as a paying guest in the house of a police officer, whose son used it as a PG accommodation.

The residents have alleged that due to the negligence of the owners, they felt unsafe as tenants can always escape without any proper verification. SSP Patiala Gurpreet SinghGill said he would pass necessary orders asking all police stations to start identifying those who did not report their tenants and initiate action. 

Ludhiana, January 29
As many as 45 volunteers of Operation Walk Maryland, a US-based NGO are conducting knee and hip replacement surgeries upon 60 patients at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, to help them walk again.

The patients belonging to poor sections of the society come from various parts of Punjab and are aged between 30-60 years.

The surgery, which costs between Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh, is being done free of cost.

A daily wager, Ram Uday Mehta (37) from Raikot who is suffering from hip arthritis is hopeful of being able to support family once again after his operation scheduled for tomorrow.

Chairman of the NGO Prabh Likhari, hails from Ludhiana and is now settled in the US, said the NGO has come to India after running similar projects in Peru and Ecuador.

“My attachment to my roots compelled me to come to Ludhiana with the project.

The volunteers include surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, OT assistants and volunteers from general public who have taken leave from their respective workplaces to come for this noble cause.

Not to miss the role of Air India which gave us discount in air fare,” Likhari added.

Dr Mohammad Yamin, Professor and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, DMCH, said, “Right from the commitment of the professionals working with the NGO to their methodology and technology, the exchange of ideas is an eye opener,” said Dr Yamin.

The NGO will also provide the postoperative care and medicines to the patients.

Chandigarh, January 29
The Punjab State IAS Officers’ Association has expressed shock on the brutal murder of Additional Collector (Nasik) Yaswant Sonawane at Manmad while discharging his official duties.

Jalandhar, January 29
The Railway Ministry seems to have dropped a proposal to run a Duronto express train between Amritsar and Chandigarh. Presenting the Railway Budget in February last year, Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had proposed to introduce six new Duronto trains in various parts of the country. One such train was to be introduced between Amritsar and Chandigarh.

Duronto trains are special non-stop express trains that run from point-to-point between major cities. However, the proposal in this regard is yet to be materialised. AS Negi, Railway Public Relations Officer, said the train between Amritsar and Chandigarh had not been introduced yet.

When asked will it be introduced before the presentation of the next Railway Budget, he said : “The train may be introduced next month.” The next Railway Budget is due to be presented in the last week of February. Before this, the ministry is supposed to fulfil its commitments made in the earlier Budget.

Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had made Mamata Banerjee to include the proposal in the Railway Budget, said he would be forced to gherao the Rail Bhavan in New Delhi if the train was not introduced before the presentation of the next Railway Budget.

He said the ministry could not run away from its proposal with regard to the train. He said the most unfortunate fact was that Amritsar was not linked to Chandigarh by train. The rail network was the poorest in Punjab and the ministry had never bothered to do justice with the state as far as providing the rail service was concerned, he added.

“We will stage a dharna in front of the Rail Bhavan in case the Centre gone back from its commitment made in the Budget to operate a Duronto train between Amritsar and Chandigarh. If need be, we will also gherao the Rail Bhavan,” he said.

Ferozepur, January 29
Karnail Singh, who was undergoing imprisonment in the local Central Jail in a rape case, fled from the Ferozepur Civil Hospital on Thursday where he was taken for treatment. A case has been registered against Sukhwinder Singh, head constable (Punjab Jail) for dereliction of duty.

According to details, Karnail Singh was sentenced to seven-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) by a court of law after holding him guilty of raping his own daughters. On January 27, Karnail Singh complained of chest pain. On the directions of the jail authorities, Sukhwinder took him to the hospital for a check-up. However, Karnail Singh managed to flee from there despite the fact that Sukhwinder was on the duty.

A case under Sections 223 and 224 of the IPC had been registered against Sukhwinder Singh and Karnail Singh at the city police station. Efforts were on to arrest both the accused.

Gurdaspur, January 29
The human brain was still the most extraordinary computer, said Dr Gurpreet Singh Josan, a computer expert, at a seminar on “Societal impact of computers”, organised by the department of computer science, Pt Mohan Lal SD College for Women, here today.

The proceedings were attended by leading IT professionals and computer teachers from GND University (Amritsar), Punjabi University (Patiala) and Panjab University (Chandigarh). The focus was on social computing, world of robots, effects of e-commerce on society, effects of IT on the formal educational system, computer crimes, cyber laws and piracy.

Almost all experts agreed that in no way was the computer ahead of the human brain. Dr Josan said, “Many of us think that computers are many times faster, more powerful and more capable when compared to our brains simply because they can perform calculations thousands of time faster, workout logical computations without error and store memory at incredible speeds with flawless accuracy. But in no way is the computer really superior to the human brain.”

Dr Sandeep Sood, an IIT Roorkee alumnus, said: “This is perhaps the most beautiful time in human history. It is really pregnant with all types of creative possibilities made possible by the computer and the Internet. But all this is fraught with danger. Till now, computer is the slave of man, but I can foresee that time when man will be enslaved to it.”

“On the flip side, advantages of IT are much more than its disadvantages. Space exploration will not be possible without the help of computers. It help in curing diseases, keep track of important records, facilitate the better running of banking, airlines and transports systems,”he added.

Shailendar Parihar, who is associated with the project of setting up e-governance centres (Suvidha Centres) at the cluster level in the entire country said, “The biggest advantage of computers will be felt in rural India by the year-end. Each cluster will be having a common service centre (CSC) which will provide 547 services, including the making of UID cards, railway reservations, land records, birth and death certificates, driving licences, IT education services to rural people at the click of a mouse. In Punjab, e-governance will be a reality in the next one year and it is here that computers will be changing people’s lives for the better.”

Chandigarh, January 29
Giving Punjab Government officials a rap on the knuckles for violating the law with impunity, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered an inquiry into a sarpanch’s elections, while imposing exemplary costs of Rs 1 lakh.

The amount is to be recovered from the “erring persons”. Setting aside the election, Justice Mehinder Singh Sullar has asked the state to consider the desirability of initiating the criminal prosecution against the erring persons.

The scathing attack on the existing shady system came on a petition filed by Lakhwinder Singh and other petitioners.

Claiming to have been elected as panches of Bhittewad village gram panchayat in Ajnala tehsil, the petitioners had earlier contended that the official respondents were not convening the meeting to elect a sarpanch.

Under political pressure, the respondents wanted to secretly select sarpanch from amongst the other panches arrayed in the petition as private respondents, the petitioners had alleged.

The respondents, on the other hand, contended that the petitioners were not present during the meeting; and Satnam Singh was selected as village sarpanch.

Justice Sullar asserted it stood proved that some of the official and private respondents “have not only violated the statutory provisions of the relevant Act, but prepared a false record of election of sarpanch Satnam Singh as well, forged the record, used the same as genuine in the Court, violated the law with impunity and attempted to defend a totally non-existent cause in the court to frustrate the election of sarpanch of a gram panchayat, on the basis of majority, which is the basic unit of the democracy.

Thus, they have committed fraud on the Constitution and the Act for the reasons best known to them. Justice Sullar added: “As strange as it may seem, but strictly speaking, the tendency and frequency of violating the law with impunity by the government officers, have been tremendously increasing day by day in the society, leaving the courts in a lurch to deal with such situations, culminating in the huge pendency of litigation. “If government officers have started indulging in such heinous crimes, there will be no end of anything. This tendency, in my view, deserves to be curbed with heavy hand in this relevant connection”.

Accepting the petition, Justice Sullar added: The farce election of sarpanch by virtue of the impugned proceedings/resolution is hereby set aside…. The state is directed to hold an inquiry into the entire gamut.