Amritsar, July 31
While the SAD has begun the exercise to select candidates for the SGPC elections, the moderates and hardliners have begun parleys to form a united front against the ruling party.

Talking to The Tribune today, SAD secretary DS Cheema hinted that not all sitting members in the SGPC House may be fielded this time. He said: “We will field candidates selected on the basis of their image in the constituency, their hold in the religious arena and their spirit to perform sewa.”

He said 12 SGPC members of SAD had died in the past seven years. Some were facing health problems relating to old age. He said the final call on the allotment of ticket will be taken after meetings with district SAD chiefs, party MPs and MLAs.

He said the SAD would field fresh faces as it had done in the last elections.

On the SAD manifesto for the SGPC elections, Cheema said this would be ready in the next couple of days.

On the other hand, the SAD (Delhi), SAD (1920) and SAD (Longowal), who have joined hands, are making efforts to carry along radical outfits like the Dal Khalsa and the Khalsa Action Committee.

Senior Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh said the parleys to forge an alliance had already begun. He said there were two options- first, all opposition groups, moderates and hardliners, put up a united front and contest the poll on a common election symbol and second, the moderates and the hardliners form their own fronts and enter into a seat sharing arrangement.

He said the picture would become clear over the next few days and the first list of candidates probably released by August 4.

The DSGMC and the SAD (Delhi) chief, Paramjit Singh Sarna, said: “It would not be a cakewalk for the SAD candidates... it could be anybody’s game this time.”

He said “he would urge the Home Ministry to deploy the CRPF to ensure free and fair elections”. He objected to the Sangat Darshan functions in Punjab in view of the SGPC elections.

The SAD (1920) chief, Ravi Inder Singh, said they had formed a six-member committee to hold negotiations with other opposition groups.

Batala, July 31
Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal, sitting, SAD MLA from Qadian, created a flutter in the Akali rank and file, announcing his candidature from the neighbouring Fatehgarh Churian assembly segment for the ensuing assembly elections at a well-attended gathering here today.

Assembly Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon is the sitting MLA from Fatehgarh Churian. He is preparing the ground to fight the next elections from the same seat he won in 2007.

Lodhinangal, who was addressing a meeting of sarpanches, panches and Block Samiti members of villages in the jurisdiction of the Fatehgarh Churian assembly segment, said he had taken this decision with the blessings of the SAD high command. The SAD youth wing chief, BS Majithia, was present at the gathering. “This gave the impression that the MLA has the backing of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal,” remarked a senior Akali leader.

The BJP made its presence felt at the gathering in a big way with almost all senior Fatehgarh Churian leaders present at the meeting, which later turned into a rally. After the delimitation exercise, nearly 70 per cent of villages falling in the Qadian assembly segment have been shifted to Fatehgarh Churian.

Senior SAD leaders present at the meet said that Lodhinangal’s declaration had put the top brass in an embarrassing situation. They claimed that if his claim to the Fatehgarh Churian was rejected, the MLA had enough influence to cause damage to the SAD in Batala, Qadian, Dera Baba Nanak and Fatehgarh Churian during the elections. “Lodhinangal is a leader with a mass following. In 1986, he dared to take on the SAD candidate from Qadian, KS Boparai, as an Independent and lost by a wafer thin margin of 300 votes. When contacted, Kahlon, said he had no information about the Qadian MLA’s announcement. “ If he is saying he will contest from my assembly segment, then I wish him the best,” he remarked.

Chandigarh, July 31
The AICC president, Sonia Gandhi, has reportedly decided on alloting the party ticket to the youth in the forthcoming assembly elections in Punjab. State Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh has already started the process of identifying constituencies where the party can nominate young persons, particularly women.

As in the case of the Lok Sabha elections, the effort will be to put up young candidates where the party either does not have a ready candidate (following delimitation) or has repeatedly lost the seat.

The Congress had allotted three seats to young candidates in the parliamentary elections and had won the seats of Sangrur and Anandpur Sahib, held by Vijay Inder Singla and Ravneet Bittu, respectively.

State party chief Capt Amarinder Singh said besides giving a new face to the party where it was weak, the infusion of new blood would rejuvenate the party in the long run. “Young candidates, even if they lose this election, will have enoughtime to build base for future battles”, he said.

Sources said the experiment would also serve to ensure the youth did not drift towards the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) camp led by Manpreet Badal or the SAD, which has promised more representation to young party workers.

Sources said the Congress had not undertaken any major overhaul, except in the Malwa belt, since 1992 when the party won amid poll boycott by the mainstream Akalis. There is a feeling that several candidates are continuing to get the party ticket on the basis of past performance even though their chances of victory are slim. The number of such seats is not likely to be more than 15. Many new faces could be put up from the reserved seats.

Though the party has a number of youth leaders waiting in the wings, it has not been able to project young women leaders, something that is admitted by its leaders. The State Mahila Congress is given little importance in the overall scheme of things and there is little representation of women on top Youth Congress posts. In such a situation, finding women candidates will be difficult, say party sources.

Capt Amarinder said the party would rely on its own surveys to identify seats where young leaders can be fielded. The party has started a survey to assess whether the sitting MLAs can win their seats. Besides, the party has completed a survey on identifying the “ideal” candidates for each of the 117 seats and is awaiting reports of a second survey in this regard.

Amritsar, July 31
Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary Nirmal Singh today said the party was willing to join hands with the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) for the coming assembly elections.

Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a district council meeting of the party here, Nirmal said: “Manpreet Badal-led PPP has thoughts and ideology very similar to our party and, therefore, we will not hesitate in joining hands with him. But, both the parties are yet to talk officially.”

Talks were also on with several other organisations regarding an alliance, he said. And the CPI and the PPP could jointly, said he, provide a third alternative to the people of Punjab, who were “fed up with the false promises and corrupt practices of the successive governments.

On whether the Prime Minister’s Office should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal Bill, he said the need of the hour was to check corruption but the prime minister should be keep out of it.

The PPP chief is on a whirlwind tour of the US and Canada to woo non- resident Indians who can play a decisive role in the outcome of the assembly elections.

He has reportedly been in touch with Left leaders for a poll alliance. This can prove especially fruitful in the Doaba region where the Left has a sizeable vote bank.

Amritsar, July 31
Hinting at a fiery monsoon session of Parliament beginning tomorrow, BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad today said the main Opposition party would counter the UPA government on corruption, terror and price rise.

In the holy city to introduce the party’s nationwide campaign “Friends of BJP”, Prasad said, “In tomorrow’s session, we will raise the core issues of corruption, national security, black money stashed by Indians in foreign banks and inflation. Some of these issues command voting motion in the House; we will compel the UPA Government to furnish replies.”

Prasad, who was accompanied by local MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, said terrorism had spread its wings on the Indian territory, as was evident from the recent Mumbai blasts. “Since 1993, Mumbai has been targeted for the fifth time. If the financial capital of the county is attacked repeatedly, it will send wrong signals to global investors.”

On the Cabinet-approved draft of the Lokpal Bill, to be tabled in the Lok Sabha during the session, Prasad said the Prime Minster’s Office (PMO) should also come under its jurisdiction. "We support the introduction of the Lokpal Bill, but we want it to be made more effective and transparent so that its recommendations can be implemented in true letter and spirit without exempting any one, not even the Prime Minister,” he said.

About the “Friends of BJP” move, Sidhu said the movement had been floated to galvanise educated youth, entrepreneurs and professionals like doctors, engineers and CAs to make public opinion stronger for eradication of social vices like corruption, terrorism and inflation. “This will help India realise its potential as a superpower in real sense,” he said.

Mohali, July 31
It seems that the Punjab Forest Department is following the footsteps of the Punjab Health and Family Welfare Department when it comes to cancelling or modifying the transfer orders (two to three times) of its officers to enable them to be at the place of their choice.

In the last one month, ever since the new Minister for Forest and Wildlife, Arunesh Shakar, took over reins of the department from Tikshan Sud, getting a choice posting has become all the more easy for forest officers, especially for the officers of the Punjab Forest Services (PFS).

“ It appears that consideration, other than merit, seems to have taken centrestage to get a preferred place for posting in the department. There is no sense in transferring out an official and then cancelling the order,” said an Indian Forest Service (IFS) cadre officer.

The large-scale transfers have been done at a time when it is the most vital period for the field officers to undertake plantations, being the rainy season. But due to the transfers, most of the officers and the field staff are busy joining at the new place of posting or lobbying to get their transfer orders cancelled or modified.

Arunesh Shakar said the transfers had been made either on request or demand of the political leaders. However, he was short of words to explain the transfer orders being modified two to three times. He claimed that the transfers would not affect efficiency of the department.

A perusal of the list of transfer orders shows that certain PFS cadre officers have been posted in cadre divisions where the IFS officers should have been posted. Dev Raj, a PFS officer posted as Divisional Forest Officer (Hoshiarpur) was transferred as DFO (Faridkot). A few days later, Dev Raj was transferred back as DFO (Hoshiarpur).

Similarly, the transfer orders of DFO (Ropar) Baldev Singh, posted as DFO (Wildlife) in Patiala, were cancelled and he was posted back as DFO (Ropar). Another PFS officer Naresh Mahajan, DFO (Soil Conservation), was transferred as DFO (Ropar) and then as DFO (Ludhiana).The transfer orders of DFO (Gurdaspur) Rajinder Pannu as DFO (Ferozepur) were cancelled to post him back at Gurdaspur.

An IFS officer, Harsh Kumar, Conservator (Research and Training), Hoshiarpur, after being posted as Conservator (Ferozepur), has been transferred back as Conservator (Research and Training). Another IFS officer Dharmender Sharma, Conservator (Research and Training), was first posted as Conservator (Monitoring and Evaluation) and then posted as Conservator Forest (Soil Conservation).

There are several other such examples when officers have been transferred twice or thrice or their transfer orders have been cancelled. On the other hand, certain Conservator and Chief Conservator-rank officers have not been touched.

Bathinda, July 31
The Mansa district has been converted into a virtual cantonment to thwart the attempt of the activists of the 17 kisan and farm labour unions to enter the Gobindpura village on August 2 to protest against “forcible” acquisition of the fertile land of the farmers by the government for setting up a thermal power plant in the private sector.

“Over 2,000 PAP and regular police personnel have been deployed at various places in the district. Police personnel from Ropar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Barnala, Muktsar, Faridkot and other districts have reached Mansa,” said a senior police officer.

Personnel from various police stations and commandos of the Punjab police have also been deployed at the nakas that have been set up around Mansa. Barricades have been erected on all the highways and roads leading particularly to the Gobindpura village, which is the epicentre of the agitation.

General Secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta) Sukhdev Singh Kokri said activists of the 17 unions would make efforts to reach Gobindpura and pull down the barbed-wire fencing that had been erected by the private company around the 880 acres of the acquired land. He warned that the efforts of the Punjab Government to thwart their march would be resisted.

Kokri said the Draft Bill of the Centre for the procurement of land prohibits acquiring of the agriculture land that was under double cropping. Meanwhile, more than 100 women of the village tried to pull down the fencing in a stretch of four acres. Another group of women and children blocked the Bathinda-Mansa Highway to lodge their protest against the acquisition of the fertile land.

Amritsar, July 31
The president of the Bar Association of Baba Bakala today submitted a complaint against the ruling party MLA from Khadoor Sahib for violating the model code of conduct ahead of the SGPC elections.

In a complaint to the Election Commission of India (with a copy each to the Gurdwara Election Commission, the SGPC and the DC of Amritsar), Rajinder Singh Tapiala alleged that MLA Manjit Singh Manna had held public meetings in a gurdwara and distributed Rs 3 lakh in Rattangarh village, Rs 1.5 lakh in Wadala Khurd village and Rs 3 lakh to the sarpanch of Ajit Nagar village in Rayya block.

Seeking an inquiry into the incident, the complainant said some other leaders of the ruling Akali Dal had been luring the voters in the Baba Bakala subdivision, distributing ‘forged’ blue cards meant for the BPL families.

Jalandhar, July 31
The Punjab Technical University (PTU) has urged the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry to conduct the All-India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) either in December or January to avoid delay in beginning of the academic session in the engineering colleges on time i.e. July 1.

This year the academic session will begin in the first week of August in most of the engineering colleges. The PTU admits students in the affiliated colleges on the basis of the AIEEE, which is usually held in May and result is declared in the first fortnight of June. After the declaration of AIEEE result, it takes about five-six weeks for the university to complete the admission process.

At least, three rounds of counselling had to be held to provide adequate opportunity to students to make it to the stream of their choice. Owing to this reason, it was not possible to start the academic session before the first week of August, which further delays the examination of first and subsequent semesters.

Vice-Chancellor of the PTU Dr Rajneesh Arora said he would like to declare the result of the last semester of the degree courses by June 30, which was now declared in the mid of July owing to unavoidable technical reasons.

Dr Arora said it would enable the students to apply for admissions in the Post Graduate courses at various places in time and also to apply for admission abroad, besides various jobs. Arora said he would also request the Punjab Government authorities concerned to take up the issue of holding the AIEEE in December-January with the HRD Ministry.

Meanwhile, Adviser of the PTU Dr Nachhatar Singh said some significant adjustments in the varsity calendar had made to reschedule the exams. He said the academic session would begin 15 days in advance in case of 3rd to 8th semester. Instead of August 1, it would officially begin from July 15 and subsequently it would start from July 1.

He said decision in this regard had been taken to declare the result of 3rd to 8th semesters early, keeping in mind the demand by the students. He said the academic session in case of 1st and 2nd semester could not be advanced to an earlier date due to technical reasons related to the admission process. He said the PTU had also planned to expedite the process of evaluation of answer sheets by arranging table marking on the university campus or elsewhere.

Chandigarh, July 31
India’s Honorary Consul General to Liberia, West Africa, Upjit Singh Sachdeva has been conferred with the “Knight Grand Commander”, Liberia’s highest award during 164th Independence day celebration. He belongs to Jalandhar.

Sachdeva has become the first Indian in African history to have been awarded the highest award by a sitting Liberian president since Liberia declared her Independence 164 years ago on July 26, 1847.

The award according to sources was presented to him by President of the Republic of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for his outstanding contribution to the cause of the socio-economic development, recovery and reconstruction of Liberia after the civil war that ravaged the entire nation.

Earlier, he was honoured with the Parvasi Bhartiya Award by President Pratibha Patil for enhancing India's image globally during 3-day-long Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, in January this year. Sachdeva was born in Jalandhar and graduated from the Guru Nanak Dev University in 1982. He migrated to Liberia and started his career in 1987. He was appointed as Honorary Counsel General of India in 1998. He formed his own company Jeety Trading Corporation, which rapidly transformed into a mega building material, which has been catering to the construction and household needs of entire Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Amritsar, July 31
Congress MP and former Union Minister for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor and his wife Sunanda Pushkar today paid obeisance at the Golden Temple here.

Tharoor did not interact with the media but chose to tweet his experience on the social networking site, Twitter. “At the wondrously beautiful and uplifting Golden Temple, Amritsar. Magnificent, serene, awe-inspiring,” he tweeted.

The Congress MP and his wife relished Amritsari kulchas at the famous Bhrawan Da Dhaba. “Amazing four-hour visit to Amritsar with gluttony at Bharawan Dhaba. Aloo kulcha, chhole, black dal, lassi to die for (but not from, I hope!),” he tweeted.

Gurdaspur, July 31
Two prominent Punjab-based castes - Sainis and Suniars (goldsmiths) - which account for a sizeable vote bank in the state, have urged the Punjab Government to include their castes in its OBC list so that they are in a position to avail employment opportunities offered by the state government from time to time.

The Central Government has already included these two castes in its list of Other Backward Castes (OBC). However, over the past few years, the Punjab Government has steadfastly refused to acknowledge their status in its OBC list.

This means that people of these castes can only avail job opportunities provided by the Central Government and their wards can also seek admission to professional colleges on reservation basis. However, people of these two castes can neither avail employment opportunities offered by the state government on reservation basis nor can they take the reservation route as far as admission to professional colleges is concerned.

According to information gathered by a local lawyer Ranbir Singh under the RTI Act, the state government has put 69 castes under the head of BCs and OBCs and Sainis and Suniars do not figure in the list. Leaders of these castes are livid over the Punjab Government’s “erroneous and illogical” decision of not including them in the state government’s BC/OBC list.

Manmohan Singh Bhagowalia, general secretary of the SAD (BC wing), said: “Despite having their roots in Punjab they have been ignored by their own parent state. This means that people of these castes can’t avail job opportunities provided by the state to BCs and OBCs.”

“The Central Government admits that these castes fall in the OBC list while the Punjab Government says we are neither BCs nor OBCs. Sainis and Suniars can avail benefits of the Central Government but there is a catch her Job opportunities of the Central government are very limited as compared to opportunities provided by the state government,” said Nidhi Saini, a Taragarh-based RTI activist.

Satpal Gosain, Minister for Health and Family Welfare

Patiala, July 31
The ongoing probe into the alleged medicinal herbs purchase scam, to the tune of Rs 2 crore, in the Government Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Patiala, has come under a scanner, with the Department of Health and Family Welfare transferring Dr Shivraj, Medical Superintendent (MS) of the pharmacy and a member of the inquiry committee probing the alleged scam.

Sources told The Tribune that certain bureaucrats and political personalities were allegedly making attempts to influence the probe, which was the main reason for transferring Shivraj to Behar Sahib, Patiala, on July 26.

Notably, Shivraj was posted as MS, Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Patiala, on June 7. Few days later, the alleged scam pertaining to the purchase of the low quality and spurious medicinal herbs by the pharmacy during the past two years came to light. Following the media reports about the alleged scam, a four-member probe committee was constituted to inquire into the matter by the Director, Research and Medical Education, Punjab, and Shivraj was inducted as one of the committee members.

Sources in the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, said Shivraj was conducting a thorough and impartial probe into the alleged scam. “Fearing that heads may roll in the inquiry report, he has been transferred. It is nothing but a deliberate attempt to get him out of the probe committee in order to influence the inquiry report,” alleged some officials of the Department of Health and Family Welfare.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Satpal Gosain said he had already taken cognisance of the matter and had written a letter to the Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Satish Chandra, stating that transfer of Shivraj at this stage would adversely affect the ongoing probe and hence his transfer orders should be revoked.

“We will ensure that impartial probe is conducted and once the inquiry report is ready, necessary action would be initiated against the guilty,” he assured.

Patiala, July 31
Feeling humiliated over the refusal of Punjab Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan to meet a delegation of the college teachers; the agitated teachers, working in the government and private colleges of the state, have threatened to launch an agitation against the SAD-BJP government.

The vice-president of the Punjab Federation of College and University Teachers Organisation, Prof Jaipal Singh, said if the state government failed to disburse the arrears of the revised pay scales of teachers and other academic staff of universities, government colleges and government-aided private colleges of the state, they would stage protest demonstrations in all parts of the state and would observe September 5 (Teachers Day) as the “Black Day”.

Jaipal said, “On Wednesday, a delegation of the college teachers went to meet Sekhwan in Chandigarh regarding the demands of the teachers and the issue of the release of the arrears, but the minister refused to meet us.

Despite repeated requests to the staff of the minister, we were not allowed to convey our demands to him. This is not only injustice with the teaching community, but also shows the callous attitude of the state government towards the education sector.”

In pursuance of the recommendations of the University Grants Commission (UGC), on September 4, 2009, the Punjab Government had revised the pay scales of teachers and equivalent cadres in universities and colleges in the state with effect from 1st January, 2006.

“Despite the notification, teachers and other academic staff working in government and private colleges, GNDU and Punjabi University, are awaiting the disbursal of the arrears, as per the revised pay scales with effect from January 1, 2006,” said Jaipal, adding that they would prepare a comprehensive strategy to deal with the crucial issue of the non-disbursal of the arrears. Despite repeated attempts, Sekhwan was not available for comments.

Chandigarh, July 31
Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Landran, which starts its session for new comers tomorrow has tied up with Punjab InfoTech for a unique e-governance intiative, where students will be outsourced to state technological projects on ‘no profit, no loss’ basis to give them hands-on training.

The initiative introduced on a pilot basis last year got MBA , MCA and engineering students to develop softwares for various projects of the state government, which help the authorities in serving the citizens better.

Among various projects completed by students last year are Prison Management System, Single Window Industrial Clearance Service (SWICP), Industry Interface Web Portal (IIWP) and templates for project planning for small and large scale industries. Content Management System (CMS) based web portals were designed and developed, which included automation of news, menus, pages and photo galleries portals for the Election Commission of Punjab, and testing various websites like that of Punjab Infotech and Institute for Development and Communication (IDC).

“ We are the only college to have this kind of an e-governance centre. We have taken our students a step ahead of submitting projects or doing summer internships. They are getting hands-on experience and the government is getting the much-required innovation,” said Satnam Sandhu, director, CGC, Landran.

Ludhiana, July 31
The Centre may have stated that by 2020, the country needs to produce 280 million tonnes of foodgrain but agricultural scientists believe that it would be an “impossible” task unless the Centre doubles its Plan outlay in agriculture and allied activities.

Economists at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here said while the demand for foodgrain had increased manifold, the government had decreased the Plan allocation drastically since 1980 in percentage terms in agriculture and allied sectors.

“The targets required by the Centre will not be achieved unless the Plan outlay for agriculture is increased to at least 7.5 per cent. The existing Plan allocation for the agriculture sector is just 3.8 per cent.

“At present, 241 million tonnes of foodgrain is produced in the country. By 2020, we need to produce 280 million tonnes of foodgrain, that is why enough funds are needed to achieve set targets”, said Dr MS Sidhu, an agricultural economist at PAU.

As per Five-year Plan documents, the Plan allocation for the agricultural sector has been drastically reduced since the First Five-year Plan (1951-56). The agriculture sector was given a share of 14.9 per cent of the total Plan outlay in First Five-year Plan (1951-56), while in second plan, the allocation for agriculture reduced to 11.3 per cent. In the third Five-Year Plan, agriculture sector was given 12.7 per cent share while the allocation was increased to 14.7 per cent in fourth Plan (1969-1974).

“But after Sixth Five-year-Plan, the allocation for agriculture has seen a continuous decline. In the existing 11th Plan (2007-12), agriculture is allocated with just 3.8 per cent share. With such a low Plan outlay, how can we increase production of foodgrain? Agriculture has seen a slowdown in the growth rate due to less allocation in percentage terms. We cannot achieve the desired results unless the Plan outlay in agriculture sector is increased,” said Dr Sidhu.