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Jagir Kaur’s exit triggers race for berth
Bibi lodged in Kapurthala jail
Followers in shock
Detractors harp on Amarinder’s inaccessibility
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Gujral and Gill want death penalty to go
30-year-old ends life over Rajoana issue?
LS election: Capt assigns segments
Gurdaspur violence: Sikh clergy faces villagers’ ire
CM: Need to be vigilant against divisive forces
More funds for tourism promotion on cards
5 IAS officers transferred
Woman doctor, granthi get life term for killing judge
Sadique’s election
challenged
Akali sarpanch booked
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Jagir Kaur’s exit triggers race for berth
Before conviction
Chandigarh, March 30 The government is suddenly under pressure from aspirants who want to fill the vacuum created by Bibi Jagir Kaur’s exit from the Cabinet. Several legislators who were only hopeful of being appointed Parliamentary Secretary are now trying to get a ministerial berth. The SAD-BJP alliance is under no political threat because of the adverse judgement against its minister. But the verdict has certainly caused a setback to the image of the government. It is unlikely that Bibi Jagir Kaur will get bail in the immediate future. If she does not get relief from the High Court, she may have to vacate her seat (Bholath), forcing a byelection. Bibi Jagir Kaur has announced her resignation and it is beyond doubt that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will accept it and forward it to the Governor immediately. What is baffling is that she was inducted into the Cabinet just two weeks before the judgement. She, perhaps, persuaded the CM that she was not likely to be convicted.
After conviction
The Akali Dal would be hoping that the Supreme Court verdict on the SGPC petition do not make things difficult for it at this stage when it is trying to cool tempers on the Rajoana issue. At one point, Bibi Jagir Kaur was being considered for the post of SGPC president, but was inducted into the Cabinet instead. Party insiders say that the Cabinet slot after the Bibi’s resignation would either be filled immediately or the matter would be deferred till the time the new government has its feet firmly on the ground.
About bibi l
Bibi Jagir Kaur become a widow at the age of 23. She started her public life in August 1988 when during the Punjab floods she distributed langar among the flood victims travelling on a boat. l
She started her political career as an Akali Dal (Amritsar) worker with Simranjit Singh Mann in 1991. A graduate from Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh, she contested the SGPC elections for the first time in 1996 and won. l
A mother of two daughters, she became incharge of Dera Baba Prem Singh in Begowal and in 1997 contested from Bholath on the SAD ticket and won. l
She was made Tourism Minister. When Parkash Singh Badal parted ways with Gurcharan Singh Tohra, he made her SGPC president. She was SGPC president twice from March 1999 to November 2000 and again from September 2004 to November 2005. l
Her downfall began in 2002 when she was booked for her elder daughter’s murder. She lost the 2002 assembly elections. l
She was re-elected from Bholath in the recent elections and made minister.
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Bibi lodged in Kapurthala jail
After the verdict was pronounced, the police took Jagir Kaur and the other convicts to the Central Jail but on account of some confidential communiqué, it was decided to shift all of them to Kapurthala jail. Sources in the Punjab Intelligence said, "There is already so much tension because of the Balwant Singh Rajoana issue. Lodging a senior politician who is also a Cabinet minister in the same jail is certainly not advisable. The other convicts were also not willing to be lodged in the Patiala jail." Defence counsel Satnam Singh Kler said, "We have got the copy of the judgment but we are yet to go through the details. Once we get it, we will deliberate on the matter as Bibi Jagir Kaur has every right to appeal against the verdict in the High Court."
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Jalandhar, March 30 Many villages located in Bholath constituency, which is represented by her, people remained glued to their TVsets to know of their leader’s fate. There was some commotion at the dera but the township remained peaceful. Bibi Jagir Kaur heads the dera of Sant Baba Prem Singh Muralewale that has a following in lakhs in the Doaba region of Punjab and abroad. Bibi’s father-in-law Baba Harnam Singh, a former minister, had inherited the dera from his elder brother Sant Baba Prem Singh Muralewale. Bibi Jagir Kaur inherited the dera from her father-in-law. — Varinder Singh
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Detractors harp on Amarinder’s inaccessibility
Chandigarh, March 30 Capt Amarinder’s camp claims he will continue to head the party till the parliamentary elections in 2014. This means if the Congress does reasonably well in the poll under Amarinder’s leadership, he will be retained to lead the party in the next assembly elections.
But even the Amarinder camp is not certain of this prognosis. This is because Congress president Sonia Gandhi, not relying on the PCC feedback alone, is giving a hearing to almost every senior party leader. Several leaders have called for a change in the party leadership. An equal number have supported Amarinder but even among the latter some have voiced concern at the PCC chief’s inaccessibility. Though the matter is in the hands of the central leadership with Amarinder waiting for a final decision before going into the field again, there is no doubt that he continues to remain the tallest Congress leader in the state. Even in defeat, the party has managed to win 31 seats in the Malwa belt under which his home district of Patiala falls, indicating his popularity among the Jat Sikh peasantry. Sixtynine of the 117 assembly seats in the state fall in the Malwa region, which is a traditional Akali stronghold. Observers claim that a Jat Sikh leader as a PCC president remains the best option for the party. Two senior leaders who are said to be in the race for the top post are Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa and Congress Working Committee member Jagmeet Brar. The Gurdaspur MP has come out in the open to demand Amarinder’s dismissal. Brar has remained silent but his brother Ripjit Brar has attacked Amarinder’s leadership. There are a few youngsters in the race too, including Amloh legislator Randeep Singh Nabha who recently held a show of strength against the PCC president at his residence. Bajwa is a relatively young MP, has served in various state cabinets and recently managed to get his wife elected as MLA despite internal opposition. But he is unacceptable to party leaders in his own Majha region. Jagmeet Brar is from the Malwa region, has a clean image, is a fiery orator, has organisational experience and has successfully taken on the Badals in the past. He, howeve, has been out of the state for long periods and has lost at the hustings repeatedly. Party sources claim that besides a PCC president, two to three working presidents from different regions or communities may be appointed to give a new look to the state unit. This, they claim, is essential to counter the Akali juggernaut of Sukhbir Badal, Bikram Majithia and Harsimrat Badal and to bolster the party’s shrinking base among the Dalits and the Hindu community. Those in the race include former minister Laal Singh, Raj Kumar Verka and Batala MLA Ashwani Sekhri.
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Gujral and Gill want death penalty to go
Chandigarh, March 30 Son of former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, Naresh Gujral wanted the government to make a law abolishing death penalty in the country. His special mention followed a nationwide debate stirred by the stay on the execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the Beant Singh assassination case. Congress MP Manohar Singh Gill, too, has demanded abolition of death penalty. “The entire civilised world is rapidly abolishing the barbaric practice of capital punishment. As on May 2011, as many as 96 countries have banned it. Amnesty International regards another 34 countries to be de facto abolitionists,” Gujral said in his special mention. Tracing the history of debates on the abolition of capital punishment, he said after Independence, India retained the 1861 Penal Code that provided death penalty for murder. During the Constituent Assembly debates between 1947 and 1949, several members had expressed their views against capital punishment. Gujral held that unsuccessful attempts were made to abolish the death penalty in 1956, 1958, 1961 and 1962 through the introduction of private members’ Bills in both Houses. The legality of capital punishment had been challenged several times in the Supreme Court. “India is the country of Buddha and Gandhi whose ideals we all cherish. Guru Granth Sahib, Buddhist tenets and the New Testament all believe that the power to give or take life lies only with God. The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is a premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state in the name of justice. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he said. “I urge the government to take immediate steps and bring forward a legislation to abolish capital punishment,” Gujral concluded. Former Union Sports Minister and sitting Rajya Sabha member Manohar Singh Gill said: “ The civilised world gave up the death penalty in the last century. India too rejected this barbarian concept. Unfortunately, it was brought back, through judicial approval in “the rarest of rare cases”. Since then judges have awarded it frequently. It is difficult to see any consistent philosophy in their decisions. “I oppose the death penalty totally. I call upon the government, to put an immediate stop to this form of justice, if necessary by a parliamentary change of the law. I am of the view, that the death penalty be replaced by a very long life sentence in jail in appropriate cases. This will avoid the tensions that arise every now and then.”
30-year-old ends life over Rajoana issue?
Patiala, March 30 Identified as Ranjit Singh Choudhary of Guhla Cheeka town in Haryana, the deceased’s body was found hanging from a tree in Tafajalpura locality near the bus stand here. The police also recovered some posters and other printed material relating to ‘Save Rajoana campaign’ from his possession. The note read that he was part of a 21-member group formed to save Rajoana and in case he was hanged, all of them would commit suicide as per the plan. However, the police refused to buy the point and claimed Choudhary was in depression. Patiala SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill claimed decease’s father Jagir Singh met him after the incident and said his son was in depression. Ranjit, the police said, went to the UK on a student visa two years ago and got married there. He divorced his wife and returned to India last year. Though his second marriage was fixed for January 18, the bride’s parents got to know about his first marriage on the wedding day. As a result, the girl was married off to Ranjit’s younger brother. SHO Tripri Satnam Singh said the deceased left his house yesterday. He said the credentials of his suicide note were yet to be verified. The body has been handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination.
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LS election: Capt assigns segments
Chandigarh, March 30 Each vice-president and general secretary has been assigned a parliamentary constituency each to coordinate between the Pradesh Congress Committee and party workers, MLAs and the constituency MP. Lal Singh: Overall incharge of the PCC office and frontal organisations Arvind Khanna: General secretary attached with the PCC president and the PCC office. Chaudhary Jagjit Singh: Incharge of the Amritsar parliamentary constituency Kewal Singh Dhillon: Incharge of the Ferozpur parliamentary constituency Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi: Incharge of the Anandpur Sahib seat Ashwani Sekhri: Incharge of Ludhiana constituency Rana KP Singh: Incharge of Patiala constituency Sukh Sarkaria: Incharge of Khadoor Sahib seat RC Dogra: Incharge of the Fatehgarh Sahib seat Rana Gurjeet Singh: Incharge of the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat OP Soni: Incharge of the Jalandhar constituency Harmander Jassi: Will take care of Hoshiarpur seat Fatehjang Singh Bajwa: Incharge of the Faridkot seat Aruna Choudhary: Incharge of the Sangrur seat Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon: Incharge of the Bathinda constituency Vikram Bajwa: Attached with Lal Singh for frontal
organisations.
Congress condemns demolitions Chandigarh: PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh has condemned the demolition of houses belonging to poor at Madheer village in Gidderbaha Assembly segment allegedly at the behest of local sarpanch just because he suspected them of having voted for the Congress. Capt Amarinder, in a statement, maintained that the incidents of vendetta were regularly coming to his notice at the lower level from across the state. He said in Madheer village the poor who had been living on shamlat land for a long time were forcibly evicted and their houses demolished. — TNS
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Gurdaspur violence: Sikh clergy faces villagers’ ire
Gurdaspur, March 30
The team comprises DIG (Border Range) Ram Singh, Tarn Taran SSP Manminder Singh and SP (Headquarters) Jaspal Singh. The cremation of 18-year-old Jaspal Singh, killed in the police firing yesterday, will be held at his native village Chour Sidhwan tomorrow. Jaspal Singh was a BTech (Electronics) student of the local Beant College of Engineering and Technology. Shocked students and staff of the college held a meeting this morning to express grief over his death. Principal Dyal Chand termed the killing as a “dastardly act”. Jaspal’s body was taken to his village amid tight security after a post-mortem was conducted by doctors of the Civil Hospital here. The situation in the city remained tense with paramilitary forces keeping a strict vigil to prevent any untoward incident following Intelligence reports that the situation could take a turn for the worse. Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh, Damdami Taksal head Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma, former Jathedar of Akal Takht Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode and Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwarpal Singh had to face the ire of nearly 2,500 villagers when they visited Jaspal’s village this morning. The angry residents blamed the clergy for the sorry state of affairs. The police accompanied the team till the village outskirts but no further. There were reports that the police could be targeted by the angry village residents. Dera Baba Nanak legislator and president of the Gurdaspur District Congress Committee Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to hold an all-party meeting to discus the situation in the town. He also asked the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh to Ranjit Singh who was injured in the violence yesterday. The latter is recuperating at the Civil Hospital, Amritsar. Gurdaspur Member of Parliament Partap Bajwa claimed that the law and order situation in the state was deteriorating.
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CM: Need to be vigilant against divisive forces
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 30 “The scars due to militancy haven’t faded yet. Be it in terms of loss to human life or materially, Punjab has suffered on every front during the terrorism days. Peace should not be lost at any cost. We need to remain vigilant against the divisive forces that can’t see people living in amity,” said Badal. He was here to attend the bhog ceremony of Ujjagar Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prem Singh Chandumajra’s brother. Urging the people to follow the path shown by the Gurus, the Chief Minister said people’s support was imperative for peace. Badal refused to entertain any query regarding what the Supreme Court commented about the state government over former CM Beant Singh’s assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana’s hanging issue. “I don't want to get into any controversy. The Home Ministry issued a letter after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee made a representation before the President…. A convict cannot be hanged till the decision on the co-accused is pending,” he said. The bhog ceremony turned out to be a political gathering with thousands of people, including religious and political leaders, attending the ceremony and the speakers showering praise on the Chief Minister and Chandumajra instead of paying tributes to Ujjagar Singh.Chandumajra briefed those present on the occasion about the life of his brother.
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More funds for tourism promotion on cards
Amritsar, March 30 Talking to mediapersons after inspecting various tourism projects here, Phillaur said the previous SAD-BJP government paid special attention to tourism and would carry forward these works in its present tenure as well. He admitted that there was a lack of publicity and promotion in the tourism sector in the state. He said he would soon take up the matter with the Chief Minister and ensure that adequate funds were allotted for the purpose. On a query regarding his other portfolio, Jails, he said they would make all efforts to curb the supply of drugs inside the jails. “We are already working in this direction and we will soon ensure drug-free jails in the state. Those involved in the smuggling of drugs into the jails will not be spared,” he said.
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5 IAS officers transferred
Chandigarh, March 30 Special Secretary (Finance) Alaknanda Dayal has been posted Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner in place of Paramjit Singh, who has been transferred as Muktsar Deputy Commissioner. Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Arshdeep Singh would now be the Moga Deputy Commissioner while Kavita Mohan Singh Chauhan, Additional Secretary (Planning), has been transferred as Barnala Deputy Commissioner. Amritsar Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Amit Dhaka has been posted Mansa Deputy Commissioner in place of CS Talwar. DPS Kharbanda, Secretary (RTA), Ferozepur, has been sent as Managing Director, Punjab Roadways Transport Corporation,
Patiala.
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Woman doctor, granthi get life term for killing judge
Chandigarh, March 30 The convicts have also been asked to pay a fine of Rs 50,000. Pronouncing the order, Additional District and Sessions Judge Ved Parkash Sirohi said: “The two acted in the most cruel and inhuman manner. Undoubtedly, it was a cold-blooded murder. Both the convicts are sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life.” The court said Vijay Singh was a highly placed person and was posted as presiding officer, labour court, Chandigarh, in the rank of Additional District and Sessions Judge. On the day of the incident, he was on a routine walk in Polo Ground, Patiala. He did not have any security personnel accompanying him. Convict Manjit Singh inflicted as many as 25 injuries with a kirpan on the victim’s body of which six injuries were enough to cause death. “Accused Manjit Singh is a contract killer and has murdered the victim for a meagre amount. He has no value for human life. It was purely a cold-blooded murder. The accused acted in the most cruel and inhuman manner. The murder was committed in an extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical, revolting and dastardly manner.” It was said that convict Ravdeep Kaur “hired” Manjit Singh to eliminate Vijay Singh. “Thus, both the convicts are hardened criminals and a menace to society.” Counsel for Ravdeep Kaur argued that her son was pursuing B.Tech. “He is on the threshold of his professional career and requires her at this age. She has never been involved in any other case.” The court then sentenced them to life imprisonment. The murder occurred on October 13, 2005. Four days after the murder, the Patiala police arrested two persons -- a woman doctor working with a private hospital, Ravdeep Kaur, for masterminding the murder, and Manjit Singh a contract killer. Manjit was allegedly paid an amount of Rs 5 lakh for executing the murder, the prosecution stated. The murder trial was transferred from Patiala to the Chandigarh court, as no counsel in Patiala was willing to represent any of the accused in the high profile case. The case was transferred to Chandigarh in February, 2006. The prosecution said that Dr Ravdeep had an affair with Vijay Singh and was compelling him to marry her and divorce his wife. Vijay Singh had three children. He refused to tie the knot with her following which Ravdeep hatched a conspiracy to kill him.
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Sadique’s election
challenged
In his petition filed through senior advocate Satya Pal Jain and Dheeraj Jain, the petitioner alleged Sadiq was not eligible to contest the election from the seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste category members, as he was a Muslim. Jain said a Muslim could not claim the benefit of a reserved caste. It can be claimed only by a Hindu, Sikh or a Buddhist and not by persons belonging to other religions. The petitioner alleged a voter had raised an objection in this regard before the Returning Officer. But, he refused to consider the objection by citing delay as a reason. He claimed since Sadique was ineligible, the Returning Officer himself should have rejected the nomination paper. He alleged the nomination papers of Sadique were wrongly accepted by the Returning Officer, which has materially affected the result. Guru prayed for setting aside Sadique’s election and urged the High Court to order fresh election from the constituency.
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Akali sarpanch booked
Muktsar, March 30 On a complaint filed by Sukhpal Singh, whose house was demolished yesterday to make way for the construction of a boundary wall at Madhir village, the Kot Bhai police booked village sarpanch Birdevinder Singh, his father Gurdeep Singh, nambardar Baldev Singh and an unidentified person.
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The verdict against Bibi Jagir Kaur has come at a time when the SAD-BJP government is coping with law and order on the Balwant Singh Rajoana clemency issue.
The Punjab Congress is in a churn with Pradesh Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh leaving for Delhi yesterday to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a bid to ensure his continuation in office even as his detractors, defying the party directive, continue to openly question his leadership qualities.
An uneasy calm
prevailed in the town today. The curfew, clamped yesterday following communal clashes, continued to be in force for the second day.
The state government has formed a special investigating team (SIT) to look into the sequence of events leading to the curfew.
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 30
Patiala, March 30
Chandigarh, March 30