Sunday, October 24, 1999
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P U N J A B | |
Sunday, October 24, 1999 |
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Enforcement
wings to go |
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Woman
‘unmasks’ husband’s villainy ‘Benefactor’ rapes woman
Nephew, wife suspects in murder
case Another held in IVP fraud case
Bid to steal diesel foiled Lawyers to suspend work on
Saturdays Pope a dictator: VHP Cotton ceases to be ‘white
gold’ JD(S) leader alleges plot to kill
him AISSF want Jats on OBC list Shobha yatras mark Valmiki Jayanti Govt obliging quacks: IMA |
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Enforcement wings to go CHANDIGARH, Oct 23 — The Punjab Government today announced several schemes to jack up revenue from taxation and excise and provide succour to trade, industry and business. According to the Financial Commissioner (Taxation), Mr C.L. Bains, on popular demand from the trade it has been decided to abolish forthwith all the enforcement wings, always considered a source of harassment by the trade. This will now be replaced with information collection centres on the inter-state border entry-exit points. These centres will be effective on November 1 next. The present enforcement wings' staff will be redeployed. There is a proposal to set up a couple of flying squads on the inter-state borders, districts for checking evasion of tax on information. The information centres will be computerised. To encourage flow of intelligence information on evasion of tax or excise, etc, the government has decided to introduce two "award" schemes. The award will be given to a person giving information, leading to detection of tax evasion, penalty amounting to Rs 5 lakh and above. The informer will get 10 per cent of the demand created in instalments. Likewise for the recovery of smuggled or illicit liquor or detection of working stills, a reward up to 10 per cent of the excise duty evaded on stock of the smuggled Indian-made foreign liquor seized shall be paid. Details on schemes were available with assistant excise and taxation commissioners. To dispose of long-pending cases for assessment of tax leviable, the government has introduced "deemed assessment scheme". The exemption from production of "C" form has also been made for those who avail of the deemed assessment scheme. All old cases could be opted by the dealers to be disposed of under this scheme with a deposit of a fee of Rs 100 per lakh of gross turnover for the relevant year subject to a minimum fee of Rs 5,000. This scheme is applicable to dealers who have made payment of tax earlier. This is an optional scheme and last date for those dealers interested in it is December 31, 1999. The scheme is intended to give relief to the dealers whose assessment cases have been pending for long. On the other hand, considering the demand of the jewellers, the department has notified the reduction of sales tax on ornaments and jewellery from 4 per cent to 2 per cent. The notification is dated October 14. For grant of set-off in case of autoparts, tractors and tractor-combine parts and industrial paints, a notification was issued on August 2. The Chief Minister, Mr
Parkash Singh Badal, had initiated these steps on the
basis of the feedback he had from the trade in the state,
the main grouse being harassment of honest dealers. |
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Truckers' stir CHANDIGARH, Oct 23 — The countrywide strike by the truck operators to protest against the 35 per cent hike in diesel price has had so far, a marginal impact in Punjab. The state's own truck operators, who share between them nearly 80,000 light, medium and heavy goods carriers, seemingly have some differences over the need for the strike. Informed sources say that while the Punjab Truck Operators Union was already scheduled to meet at Nangal earlier this week when the strike decision was taken at the all-India level, the operators felt that their own demands pending with the state government would get lost when viewed against the nationwide strike. The Punjab Operators were fed up with "harassment" at octroi checkposts and wanted redressal. Likewise they were feeling "humiliated" by the police checking. The third issue on which the Nangal meeting was scheduled pertained to the "nine tonne load" permitted on the trucks. The diesel issue came up later. Now the union is scheduled to meet in Chandigarh on Monday and review the strike situation and its impact. Reports from the districts indicate that the strike is beginning to cast a shadow on the normal life, particularly, when it comes to entry of trucks from outside the state carrying edible items, which are perishable within Punjab, trucks seem to be on the road. The strike, nevertheless, has had 20 per cent effect on the normal life so far. But the movement of paddy from mandis has not been interrupted. This was claimed by the State Transport Commissioner, Mr Kulbir Singh, in an interview to TNS today. Having held discussions with truck operators and officials in different districts in the past two days and by monitoring the situation, Mr Kulbir Singh said: "As such there appears to be no need to invoke ESMA. That decision, however, rests with the government". The field reports indicated that wherever the unions were dominated by CPI activists the impact was rather more. Informed sources say that despite the protest strike, operators have already passed on the additional burden to the consumer when it comes to carrying of goods. Punjab, Mr Kulbir Singh, said had over 26 vehicles of all types and makes. The effective staff strength to deal with this volume was a mere 415. Yet steps were initiated to undertake vigorous checking, particularly, of the passenger transport buses — which ply either without a valid permit or over-run their route permit assigned by undertaking "special" trips in a scrupulous manner. There are also "tourist" buses which enter Punjab without paying the requisite fee. Following a directive from the top, the STC has mounted a major drive against illegal plying of buses since October 4. Consequently, till date 919 vehicles have been challaned and 120-odd impounded. A fine of Rs 23 lakh was realised. The Commissioner said that in an incident involving the District Transport Officer, Mr Malwinder Singh Jaggi (of Fatehgarh Sahib) a police case was registered last night and two trucks, carrying coal, impounded. Mr Jaggi was on duty at night checking vehicles when two trucks approached. When signalled to stop they sped away. When chased and intercepted, six persons assaulted the To injuring him. One person has been nabbed. Despite the strike by truckers, the Department of Transport continued its drive against illegal plying of vehicles. The revenue receipts have gone up considerably over those of last year. From auction of
condemned vehicles also belonging to "ministerial
car pool" at Chandigarh, an amount of Rs 2 crore was
earned by disposing of 270-odd cars of ministers. |
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Control room on truckers' stir CHANDIGARH, Oct 23 — To keep a tab on the ongoing truckers' strike, the Punjab Transport Department has set up a control room at its head office here. All District Transport Officers have been connected with the control room, which will work round the clock, according to Mr Mohinder Pal Arora, Joint Transport Commissioner (Enforcement), Punjab. Mr Arora said officials
on duty at the control room would have the latest
information on every aspect of truckers' strike and
anybody interested in getting any information regarding
it should contact it at telephone number 706216. The
control room would also supply information about the
strike to the Ministry of Surface Transport, which has
been monitoring the strike at the national level. |
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Jagir Kaur lambasts
anti-Panthic forces CHANDIGARH, Oct 23 —The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President, Bibi Jagir Kaur, today hit back at the Sarb-Hind Shiromani Akali Dal led by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra for its conspiracy with 'mahants' and other to reinstate Bhai Ranjit Singh as Jathedar of Akal Takht. In a strongly worded, signed two-page statement, Bibi Jagir Kaur said for the past 75 years it had been the prerogative of the Sikhs' elected representative organisation, the SGPC, to appoint the Jathedars of the Takhts. The SGPC was vested with constitutional, moral and legal powers to do so. "How can the so-called SHSAD and its 'co-conspirators,' who have been thrown into the dustbin of history in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, dare do such a thing? I warn such Anti-Panthic forces not to precipitate the issue". She reminded Bhai Ranjit Singh of his own utterances, wherein, he had stated while campaigning during the Lok Sabha elections that he would take leave Panthic activities if the candidates he was canvassing for lost the poll. As thus had happened, he should quit Panthic activities, she added. The SGPC chief also reminded him of the "sacrifices made" by the quom in the past to secure self-governance and management rights for the gurdwaras. Those who had opposed such reforms had to eat a humble pie and were termed traitors of the Panth. She scoffed at those powers operating against the Panth which were trying to grab Akal Takht for Bhai Ranjit Singh who had already been removed from the august office by the SGPC. Bibi Jagir Kaur reminded Mr Tohra and his proteges of the Sikh history and also that for them there was no escape from the scams and embezzlements in the SGPC during their period. The SGPC president laid
the foundation of a gurdwara in Sector 44 here. |
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Woman ‘unmasks’ husband’s villainy AMRITSAR, Oct 23 (UNI) — He was an un-suspecting Punjab Police constable and she an innocent 19-year- old college-going student when they met and decided to get married. However, the villainous character in him emerged as soon as he tied the nuptial thread last year. Thereafter, the 19-year-old girl was subjected to the worst type of physical assault, was sexually abused, blackmailed and threatened with dire consequences by her husband who had connections in high places both within his department and outside. This story of passion, blackmail and violence is that of Sunita Thakur, who has been running from pillar to post since the past few months seeking justice but her pleas have fallen on deaf ears. About two months back, she gave birth to a baby boy but the child was taken away from her by her husband, Paramjit, alias Pawan. The whereabouts of her child are not known. However, her determination to seek justice forced her to go public. "My reputation has been soiled, but I am determined to unveil the villainous mask of my husband and all those who are protecting him," said Sunita. She said her courtship with Paramjit, who introduced himself as a CBI officer, began in August last year and within a month they got married in Chandigarh. "Later, I came to know that Paramjit had not only left his first wife but had exploited a number of young girls," she said claiming that she had furnished proof in the form of a video-cassette and photographs to the police. Social worker and local BJP MLA Laxmi Kanta Chawla, who was also present, confirmed that the police was in possession of photographs of nude girls which had allegedly been clicked by Paramjit or someone close to him. Sunita even furnished a pornographic photograph of a local girl who had fallen into Paramjit’s trap. As per Sunita’s claim, Paramjit would blackmail the girls whom he would photograph and then these girls were forced into prostitution and even supplied to high-ups in the city. Sunita said in January she sought the help of Mrs Chawla and the result was that a case of rape was registered against Paramjit. Thereafter, she was threatened and taken to Chandigarh by her father-in-law and his friends and before a Punjab and Haryana High Court judge she withdrew her complaint and compromised with her husband who was then lodged at the central jail here and was under suspension. Sunita’s woes did not end here and again she was subjected to physical assault and was sexually abused by Paramjit. Since August, Sunita has been running from pillar to post, meeting senior police officials and seeking their help to trace her little one and punish her husband. However, so far no action has been taken against Paramjit or members of his family. Police officials said
they were initiating action against Paramjit but
maintained a stoic silence when asked why he had not been
sacked from the department, despite being in possession
of proofs which revealed the story of his dark character. |
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‘Benefactor’ rapes woman JALANDHAR, Oct 23 (UNI) — Three car-borne youth, including one donning the uniform of a Punjab police commando, looted cash allegedly at gunpoint from a medicine shop in Jamsher village near Jalandhar cantonment last night, police sources said here today. The robbers, in their mid-twenties, came to the shop in a Maruti car around 1900 hours. While the "commando" stood outside the car, his two accomplices walked upto the shopowner and demanded cash. One of the youth forcibly opened the cash box and took away Rs 1,000 while brandishing what looked like a pistol. The Sadar police had registered a case. In another a Bengali woman was brought to a Punjab village by lure of marriage by an alleged benefactor who raped her and her minor sister. The woman—in her mid-twenties, told the police that Harmesh, alias Meshi, of Sihariwal under Nakodar police station, brought her along with her children and 12-year-old sister from Hugli a few months ago. She alleged that Harmesh along with Phuman Singh of Rampur village and Sunny and Mona, residents of Farkkruwal village, had raped her and then her minor sister in her presence. The Shahkot police has
registered a case. |
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Punjab to honour martyrs CHANDIGARH, Oct 23 — A Punjab-level function will be held at Kisan Bhavan here on October 25 to honour the families of Kargil martyrs. The Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, will preside. At least 105 soldiers of Punjab had died in Kargil and another 182 were wounded. An ex-gratia grant of Rs 2 lakh each has already been paid to the families of 91 martyrs and the rest 14 of these families will be handed over the cheques at the function. The families of martyrs are also being paid Rs 5 lakh each for buying built-up houses/plots. So far 34 of these families have already been paid this, and the rest 52 families will be given cheques on October 25, according to an official press note. A high-powered committee has interviewed nine eligible candidates from the families of martyrs for Class I and Class II posts, whereas, there are 31 eligible candidates for the Class III posts. All will be issued appointment letters on the occasion. At least 32 dependents of each martyr are eligible for Class IV jobs out of which in 27 cases the candidates have already been issued appointment letters. The remaining five will also be issued appointment letters at the state-level function. The press note said 19 cases had been kept reserved for the eligible dependents of the martyrs who are below 18. The remaining 12 dependents are not eligible for the job. Another highlight of the function will be honouring of 8 Sikh Regiment. This regiment was instrumental in liberating the Tiger Hill. Liberation of Tiger Hill proved to a decisive turning point in the Kargil war in which Pakistani intruders were well entrenched. In that action the regiment lost one officer, four JCOs and 30 other ranks while 78 were wounded. A war heroes information centre has been established at Kisan Bhavan where complete information as regards martyrs and information details on benefits available to the families of martyrs from the Government of India and Punjab have been displayed. A gallery with the portraits of the martyrs and other related aspects has also been established. The Punjab Government
through the PSEB has announced 24-hour power supply to
the village of these war heroes. Each family of the
martyrs will also be given tubewell connection on
priority. From time-to-time the state government will
frame schemes to provide assistance to the families of
the war heroes. |
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Nephew, wife suspects in murder
case FAZILKA, Oct 23 — The murder case of a resident of Dhipanwali village took a twist as investigations by the police revealed that the person who had lodged the FIR was allegedly involved in the murder. Jatinder Pal Singh had registered an FIR in Sadar police station here on April 4 regarding his missing uncle, Gurpal Singh, and had alleged that it was a case of kidnapping with a purpose of murder. According to reports it was Jatinder Pal Singh who had allegedly murdered his uncle in connivance with Gurwinder Kaur, wife of the deceased, some other relatives and hired goons. According to the police Jatinder had lodged an FIR on March 23,1999 mentioning that his uncle, Gurpal Singh had been missing since March 17. A case in this regard was registered in the sadar police station here on April 5,1999. Mr Ajay Maluja, DSP, was entrusted with the case. Police investigations revealed that Gurpal Singh had been murdered by eight persons, including his wife and other relatives. The DSP said during investigations, Satnam Singh, who had been working as domestic helper in the house of the deceased, gave statement that the murder had been committed by relatives of the deceased and the alleged culprits had threatened him to keep his mouth shut regarding the matter. Satnam Singh, somehow succeeded in escaping from the custody of the culprits and narrated the whole story to the police. The deceased reportedly used to harass his wife and because of this his sister-in-law, his brother’s wife Harpal Kaur, her son and two younger sisters of the deceased’s wife connived to ‘eliminate’ Gurpal. On the night of March 16,1999 Sukhdeep Singh one of the suspects, engaged another man Kahan Ram and went to the house of deceased. Sukhdeep Singh took out a licensed rifle of the deceased and fired a shot on Gurpal Singh, then Kahan Singh attacked the deceased with a sharp-edged weapon. After the murder the three accused took the body in the deceased’s car to Gang Canal bridge near Kamalwala village and threw the car along with the body in the canal. Mr Maluja said four
suspects, including Sukhdeep Singh, Rajinder Singh, Kahan
Ram and Jatinder Singh, had been arrested yesterday while
the police teams were conducting raids at other places to
nab the other culprits. A case had been registered under
Sections 302, 201, 148 and 149 of the IPC. The police was
making efforts to trace the body and the car of the
deceased. |
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Another held in IVP fraud case JALANDHAR, Oct 23 — The Economic Offences Wing of the police here, has achieved another breakthrough in the multi-crore theft and fraud of Indira Vikas Patras (IVPs) and Kisan Vikas Patras (KVPs) by arresting Naginder Khullar, alias Bittu, brother-in-law of the main accused, Naresh Kapur, in the case. The SSP, Mr Gaurav Yadav, said here today that during 1995, about 6 lakh IVPs and KVPs, each worth Rs 5,000 on maturity, were stolen while being transferred by rail from Nasik to Guwahati. He said there was an organised inter-state racket for stealing and disposing of the Vikas Patras. A large number of banks in the city were defrauded by a gang, headed by Naresh Kapur, who had obtained loans amounting Rs 2.28 crore by pledging 12,825 stolen IVPs. Nine FIRs were registered by the police here from January to April, 1998. Naresh was arrested but escaped from the police custody on March 26, 1998. Mr Yadav said a special investigation team was formed to conduct investigations afresh in May this year. The first breakthrough was achieved on May 31 with the arrest of Raman Kumar, alias Bobby. Subsequently, Arun Kamar was arrested on June 12. With these arrests, the entire conspiracy was unravelled and connections with Delhi-based and Bihar-based persons were revealed. Two more persons, Sunil Dhanuka and Raj Kumar Pandit, were arrested in July, he said. The SSP said Naginder had taken an active part in the racket by converting IVPs using forged stamps. Following a tip-off, he was arrested from Kandh Sahib Gurdwara, Batala, yesterday. Mr Yadav said during
preliminary interrogation, Naginder had confessed to
having forged IVPs and using them to obtain loans from
various banks. |
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In vain, he knocks at
President’s door CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — It has been a vain search for seven long years but Gurdeep Singh has not as yet given up hope of finding his brother, Malkeet Singh, who was whisked away by the black cats of the Punjab police from the Kotkapura taxi stand in Moga on October 29, 1992. After having exhausted all the political and legal channels he has sought the intervention of the highest authority of the land, the President, in tracing the whereabouts of his missing brother. As it is a case of illegal detention by the Punjab Police, an inquiry by a state agency will not serve any purpose and only a confidential probe by an independent agency, like the CBI, will uncover the mystery shrouding the disappearance of his brother from the police custody, he has pointed out in his representation to the President. Over the past seven years he has knocked at every possible door and met senior police officers, ministers and even the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, but it has been a futile exercise. He does not even know whether Malkeet is alive or dead. The police, Mr Gurdeep Singh says, has much to hide. The officers he has been meeting frequently all these years have been making conflicting statements about the detention of his brother. However, as the state was in the grip of militancy and the police was ruling the roost, he could not do any thing except plead with the officers to release him. He said he had no doubt that his brother was illegally detained by the police. Malkeet was, as usual, waiting at the taxi stand on that fateful day when four black cats suddenly appeared on the scene in a white Fiat car. Within moments they bundled him into the car and sped away. As the incident took under the full public gauge he came to know about it immediately. On making enquiries he was told that his brother was in the custody of the CIA staff of Faridkot. The very next day his aunt’s son was also taken away. He along with members of Punj Gurain Khurd panchayat met the Senior Superintendent of Police, who assured that Malkeet would be released after interrogation. However, while his cousin and certain others were set free after five days, Malkeet was not released. When sarpanch Jaswant Singh along with other villagers met the SSP again he told them that he was not aware of Malkeet’s detention and asked them to inquire about him later. After three visits the SSP informed that Malkeet was not in police custody. Thereafter, they met the DIG who assured that no harm would come to Malkeet and that he would let them know his whereabouts in a week. However, they did not get any satisfactory reply and all their efforts to know his whereabouts from higher police officers and political bosses proved futile. Later when the SSP, Faridkot, was transferred to Sangrur lower rung police officers told Gurdeep in confidence that he had taken along with him 28 persons illegally and Malkeet was, perhaps, among them. But the SSP, Sangrur, asked them to enquire about him from the Faridkot police. A complaint to the National Human Rights Commission on the matter also did not yield any positive result as it was dismissed as time barred. The commission could go into cases of violation of human rights only within a year of the incident. Gurdeep, who has been
running from pillar to post to get justice has not lost
his patience, and is confident that his appeal to the
President would help solve the mystery of his
brother’s disappearance. |
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Bid to steal diesel foiled JALANDHAR, Oct 23 (PTI) — Emboldened by media reports about a drive against corrupt practices in the roadways department, scores of employees of local bus depot today aborted an attempt to pilfer 3000 litres of diesel by surrounding a tanker in a dramatic sequence of events which saw a senior officer literally running away to escape a thrashing by agitated workers. As driver of the tanker (Number PNO 4175), Inder Kumar drove into the depot at 12.30 p.m. and the diesel pump attendant, Onkar Singh made an entry in the stock register showing receipt for 12,000 litres of diesel, a number of depot employees surrounded the tanker and check its four chambers. When they found that one of the chambers was empty, they demanded an explanation as to how a receipt for 12,000 litres was issued even before the diesel was unloaded. On this the Assistant Mechanical Engineer (AME), Balwinder Singh, who was the senior most person present, ran away. Later, the diesel pump attendant also escaped. Sohan Singh Bahia, General Secretary of the Punjab Government Transport Workers Union, who was present and had led the so called "public action", told reporters that each diesel tanker had four chambers of 3,000-litre capacity and the third chamber of this tanker was empty. Interestingly, the tanker left the Indian Oil Corporation depot at Suchipind, 8km from here, at 11.24 p.m. yesterday and took more than 12 hours to cover this distance of 8 k.m. Driver, Inder Kumar, when confronted by the employees, told them that AME Balwinder Singh had taken out two drums of the fuel yesterday and had also filled some drums near the fields surrounding Suchipind. Depot Works Manager Ved Bhagat showed reporters the stock register where the entry was made (serial number 176.) No entry can be made unless until the fuel is unloaded from the tanker. Employees said they were aware of the wrong doings going on in the depot but felt emboldened to put a stop after reading media reports about drive against corrupt elements in roadways. "We were well aware of the racket and had planned to catch these elements red-handed. Today’s public action was pre-planned and should serve as a warning to other corrupt officials", employees said. No senior officer could
be contacted as it was a holiday today. |
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Lawyers to suspend work on
Saturdays JALANDHAR, Oct 23 — The Punjab Lawyers Association has decided to suspend work on every Saturday. The Chairman of the association, Mr G.K. Agnihotri, said at a press conference here today that for the past so many years the lawyers had been demanding a five-day week in the subordinate courts of Punjab and Haryana. When this demand was not met by the high court the lawyers were left with no choice but to embark upon an agitational approach. On April 3 this year a meeting of the presidents and secretaries of all bar associations of Punjab and Haryana was called at Jalandhar and in that meeting a resolution was passed, demanding the implementation of five-day week in the subordinate courts. A resolution was also passed which said that till this demand was met all bar associations would observe strike on every Saturday. The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana also passed a resolution that there should be five-day week in the subordinate courts, he added. Mr Agnihotri said on April 11 this year, the association also presented a memorandum to Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and then on October 20 recently. They also met Mr Justice S.P. Kurdukar of the Supreme Court and requested implementation of five-day week. Moreover, the Punjab Lawyers Association also asked the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court to provide some sufficient time so that the association could elaborate on their demand but the high court declined their demand. He said in the Supreme Court, high courts of all states, Punjab Government offices, corporations, boards and universities there was five-day week but in the subordinate courts the "British system" of six-day week was going on. They demanded that there
should be a lawyers’ chamber in each district and
subdivision wherever a new judicial complex was under
construction because no judicial complex could be
complete without the construction of lawyers’
chamber. |
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Pope a dictator: VHP JALANDHAR, Oct 23 (PTI) — The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today slammed Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa and the Missionaries is of Charity home founded by her as "nothing but conversion centres where Hindu children were converted to Christianity and sent abroad" and also termed the institution of the Pope as "undemocratic and dictatorial". "The Pope, during his next month’s visit to India, must tell us where did all children cared for at Mother Teresa’s home vanish. We know that they were converted and sent to foreign countries as priests and nuns," VHP central committee member Mohan Joshi said addressing a meeting of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal at the local Devi Talab Mandir. Expressing resentment at the pontiff’s planned visit to India, Mr Joshi said it would only encourage conversion activity in the country. He termed the Pope as "a big dictator, unsecular, stickler for power who remains at the helm of the Papal empire for his entire life and does not have a tenure and is not accountable to any authority". He also accused the Pope of "playing a big role in the break up of the Soviet Union and the current upheaval in Russia" and warned against similar happening in India. "In the USA, people were increasingly turning away from Christianity. Nobody in the western world was opting for a cleric’s job and there was scarcity of priests and nuns. Now Christians in India are converting the poor and gullible from tribal and Dalit sections and sending them to foreign nations to work as priests and nuns," Mr Joshi claimed. "If the Pope is coming to India with a plan to unleash a wave of conversions, let me make clear that Hindu organisations will not allow this to happen", Mr Joshi, described in the VHP hierarchy as a ‘rashtriya mantri’, said. He said while the VHP, working in close coordination with a newly formed umbrella organisation "Sanskritik Raksha Manch", would launch an awareness drive called "jan jagran abhiyan" to expose the "conversion racket" by many Christian missionaries, it would explore diplomatic channels to counter the disinformation campaign against Hindus by the church in India. He claimed a number of poor in Punjab were being converted under a policy of "crypto-Christianity", enabling them to continue to be members of lower castes to retain benefits of the job quota policy Mr Joshi said the VHP would launch a drive against such conversions in the state in a big way. "The number of Christians in interior areas of Mansa, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana has shot up. The census does not reveal the true picture as converted Christians also want to retain the benefits accruing to Dalit sections of the larger Hindu samaj", he alleged. He claimed that Christian missionaries were earlier involved in anti-national activities in the North-East. The VHP leader said missionaries were behind gang wars in UP and Bihar. He announced district-level awareness rallies in Punjab and said memoranda would be submitted to district magistrates. A state-level rally of the Sangh Parivar and other Hindu organisations at the local Company Bagh in the heart of the city was also announced to be held on November 2. Giving a call to Hindus to frustrate what he called "the big conversion conspiracy of baptising millions into Christianity", Mr Joshi said it must by remembered that conversion was not a fundamental right as projected by many "self-styled intellectuals". Mr Joshi also claimed that Bangalore and Chennai had become big centres for publication of objectionable Christian literature and "Christian missionaries have an unending supply of funds for this task". "The budgets for
publishing and swamping the country with such literature
runs into hundreds of crores", he claimed. |
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VHP march against
Pope’s visit begins GURDASPUR, Oct 23 — Activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal participated in a "dharam jagran yatra" organised here in protest against the visit of Pope John Paul II to India from November 5. Mr Kishan Bhagotra, Secretary of the state unit of the VHP, who led to "yatra", said the Pope’s visit to various countries had given a fillip to the organisations involved in the conversion of the natives to Christianity. Later, a memorandum was presented to the Deputy Commissioner to be handed over to the President. Their demands include, apology by the Pope for the execution of over 50,000 persons in Goa during the Portuguese rule, declaration of all religions as equal, direction to the Church to keep away from religious conversions and to stop their disinformation campaign" by the missionaries against Hindu organisations. Mr Bhagotra warned that
if their demands were not accepted by the Pope, Hindu
organisations would not allow him to land in India. |
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Cotton ceases to be ‘white
gold’ LUDHIANA, Oct 23 — Cotton can no longer be regarded as "white gold" as change in weather conditions, best-infestation and indiscriminate use of insecticides make it economically unviable to the farmers. As a result there has been a gradual reduction by 30 per cent of the area under cotton cultivation from 7 lakh hectares in 1991-1992 to 4.65 lakh hectares this year. Even the yield has fallen drastically from 608 kg lint per hectare in 1991 to 220 kg lint per hectare in 1998. Cotton, a tropical crop, requires hot and dry weather during its flowering period beginning end of July to mid-October. Water requirement of the crop from the germination of seed to its maturity is between 140 mm to 300 mm of rainfall during the boll formation to the boll development period. However, during 1995-1998, the rainfall increased by 176 mm from August to October and the relative humidity was six per cent more than during 1990-1994. "Moreover, the delayed withdrawal of monsoon in October for the past three years has played a spoilsport as it provides a conducive atmosphere for the pest-infestation of the crop," informs Dr G.S. Chahal, a senior plant-breeder at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). This leads to a longer vegetative period for the crop, thus delaying the boll formation and the quantity of bolls produced is also much less, Dr Chahal adds. Agriculture scientists feel that with the subsoil water rising and constant water-logging in certain areas of the state like Moga, Faridkot, Kotkapura, Muktsar and Malout, the crop cannot be grown there. Also, with the government providing more sops to paddy growers, paddy is a preferred crop as compared to cotton. Meanwhile, biotic stresses on cotton, like insect and pest-infestation, for a longer duration due to the delayed withdrawal of monsoon, harms the crop production. Insects and pests like the American bollworm, cotton leaf curl virus and white fly are the main afflictions of cotton. Dr Joginder Singh, a senior entomologist with the PAU, points out that heliothis or American bollworm is the most harmful pest that afflicts the crop and, at present, almost the entire crop in the state is severely affected by it. Entomologists feel that if the pest attack is detected early, it can be controlled. "But farmers generally do not do a regular surveillance of their fields and come to know of heliothis attack only after the larvae have grown. And presently, we do not have any pesticide available with us that can kill heliothis," says Dr Amrik Singh Sohi, senior entomologist, PAU. In the absence of the
natural enemies of insects and pests, the farmers, in
their efforts to save the crops, have been resorting to
indiscriminate use of insecticides and pesticides. This,
in turn, has made the pests resistant to these chemical
sprays. In 1998, farmers in Punjab used insecticides
worth Rs 380 crore on the cotton crop alone. But the
total yield in the state was worth Rs 250 crore only,
thus causing huge financial losses to the farmers. |
||
JD(S) leader alleges plot to
kill him LUDHIANA, Oct 23 — The Janata Dal (Secular) senior vice-president, Mr Harish Khanna, today accused the Punjab Agriculture Minister, Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, of hatching a conspiracy to physically eliminate him for his role in bringing to the fore the Gurpreet Sharma rape case involving his son. Mr Khanna was addressing a press conference here today. He produced before the mediapersons one Paramjit Singh, a dhaba owner, who had been assigned the task of eliminating him by "certain local police officials at the behest of the minister." Paramjit Singh revealed that a few police personnel led by an ASI had visited his residence in Shivpuri on October 20 and asked him to get in touch with another senior police official over the telephone. When he spoke to the police official concerned, he was asked to meet him the following day. He was escorted to the residence of the official by the ASI who had visited him. Two senior police officials offered Mr Paramjit Singh Rs 20 lakh for killing Mr Khanna. They also showed him a few hand grenades, a pistol and a sten gun that could be required for the job. Asked if he had a police
record, Paramjit Singh conceded he was a history-sheeter.
He said he was assured by the police officials and the
minister that the property over which he had a dispute
with his landlord would be restored to him. |
||
AISSF want Jats on OBC list JALANDHAR, Oct 23 (PTI) — Close to the heels of Rajasthan and Delhi Governments extending job reservation to Jats, the All-India Sikh Students Federation has now demanded reservation for Jats of Punjab in the job quota at the Centre and the state. "Punjab’s Jats are facing hard times economically and there have been hundreds of incidents of suicide in recent years. Even Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has admitted that agriculture is no more a profitable profession. Thus, Jats deserve to be included in the OBC list", AISSF President Harminder Singh Gill said in a statement. The AISSF faction, which is loyal to Sarb Hind Akali Dal chief G.S. Tohra, welcomed the inclusion of Jats of Rajasthan and Delhi in the job quota ambit and said the same should be extended to Jats of Punjab without further delay. The AISSF would send a memorandum on this demand to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr Badal and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Maneka Gandhi, asking them to initiate steps to implement the demand, Mr Gill said. He said if need be, the AISSF would work towards consolidating the opinion on the issue in coordination with other social and political organisations and may decide to launch an agitation to press for the demand. There is a conspiracy to
keep Jats of Punjab outside the purview of the
reservation quota by terming them as higher caste but
they will not put up with this false propaganda, Mr Gill
said. |
||
Shobha yatras mark Valmiki
Jayanti JALANDHAR, Oct 23 — Cutting across party lines political affiliations and religious barriers, thousands of people from all walks of life took part in the Valmiki Jayanti shobha yatra, organised by the Maharishi Balmiki Parkash Utsav Committee, here today. The Health Minister, Punjab, Mr Manoranjan Kalia; the Congress MP from Jalandhar; Mr Balbir Singh, speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal; CLP leader Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Mr Mohinder Singh Kaypee; Principal Inderjeet Singh, the Mayor, Mr Suresh Sehgal; and other political leaders joined the shobha yatra. In his brief message, Mr Kalia extended felicitations on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti. He said the occasion was a symbol of truthfulness, brotherhood and attainment of religious merit and salvation. The shobha yatra passed through the city, propagating the message of oneness of mankind and unity in diversity. Hymns and bhajan were also rendered by eminent singers. A state-level function will be organised at Partap Bagh here on October 24, to celebrate the birth anniversary of Maharishi Valmiki. HOSHIARPUR: A shobha yatra was organised by the local Balmik Sabha on Saturday. All markets in the town were decorated and illuminated to mark the Valmiki Jayanti celebrations. Langar was also served to poor near general bus stand on this occasion. Leaders of all political parties and prominent citizens participated in the yatra. PHILLAUR: A shobha yatra was organised in connection with Maharishi Valmiki’s jayanti here on Saturday. Several political, social and religious leaders participated in the yatra. FATEHGARH SAHIB: The birth anniversary of Maharishi Valmiki was celebrated with great enthusiasm at Sirhind and Bassi Pathana towns in the district. At Bassi Pathana town a district level function was organised by the Punjab Pardesh Balmik Sabha. Mr V.K. Janjua, Deputy Commissioner, flagged off a shoba yatra. Later, a function was organised at Valmiki Basti. Mr Paramraj Singh Umranangal, SSP, presided over the function. Mr Sham Lal, President of the Balmik Sabha, demanded that more facilities should be given to the Valmiks. A shobha yatra was also organised at Sirhind by the Balmik Sabha and it was led by its President Mr Brij Lal. FEROZEPORE:
The birth anniversary of lord Valmiki was celebrated here
with great enthusiasm. Colourful processions were taken
out from various markets in the town. Functions were held
at Valmiki temples. |
||
CM: Rs 76 lakh for Valmiki
Bhavan LUDHIANA, Oct 23 — In order to promote the ideals of Maharshi Valmiki, a Bhagvan Valmik Bhavan would be constructed here at a cost of Rs 76 lakh. For which 1000 sq yards have already been allotted and a grant of Rs 50 lakh has been released. The bhawan would be completed within one year. This was announced by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, while addressing two separate functions organised by the Dr Ambedkar Sangharsh Morcha and the Bhartiya Valmik Dharam Samaj respectively, before inaugurating a shobha yatra on the eve of "parkash divas" of Bhagvan Valmik ji, here today. The Chief Minister said Maharshi Valmiki was a great Sanskrit writer and poet, who established sacred moral values in society. He urged the people to follow the message of Maharishi Valmiki and carve out a harmonious society. Referring to the upliftment of weaker sections, the Chief Minister said it was only under SAD governments that some welfare schemes and programmes had been started for the Dalits. He claimed that during his present tenure, he had launched several prestigious schemes like free houses for the homeless, shagun scheme and free domestic power for Dalits. Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, Mr Sadhu Singh Ghudani, both MLAs, Mr Amarjit Singh Bhatia, Vice-President of the SAD, Mr Vijay Danav and Mr Lakshman Dravid also paid tributes to Maharishi Valmiki. Later, a shobha yatra
was taken out. |
||
Govt obliging quacks: IMA AMRITSAR, Oct 23 — A meeting of the executive of the Indian Medical Association and the PCMS Association today threatened to launch an agitation and to observe fast if the state government did not stop promoting "quackery". According to a press note issued here today, the IMA and the PCMSA alleged that the state wanted to oblige "quacks" in violation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court orders. The decision of the state government to issue certificates of "health volunteers" by imparting three months’ training was actually "contempt of court", the press note alleged. According to the press note, under this scheme any person, having matriculation certificate and a sum of Rs 4,500 in his/her pocket and a certificate of 10 years’ experience in providing medical assistance by a qualified doctor or a sarpanch of the area, could become a health volunteer. His certificate would enable such "quacks" to prescribe medicines from a list of drugs used for common ailments and first aid. It was nothing but legalising quackery, the meeting alleged. All this is being done
in spite of strong opposition from not only the
Chandigarh IMA President, Dr S.K. Prabhakar, but also
from Dr D.S. Gill of the PCMSA, who feel the
ill-conceived step would dilute the educational
standards. "Medical courses run into years. A
diploma in nursing is for three years, while a BAMS
course is for four years and with this three-month course
the state will have an authorised person diagnosing and
prescribing medicines". |
||
VHP men prevent transport of cattle JALANDHAR, Oct 23 (PTI) — Scores of VHP and other Sangh Parivar activists and Congress workers today swooped down at the Jalandhar cantonment railway station protesting against transportation of about 800 head of cattle, mostly bulls, to West Bengal and later forced the authorities to unload the cattle which ran berserk on the national highway, leading to a traffic blockade. Punjab VHP secretary Inderdev Sharma, state Congress organising secretary Tejinder Bittu, Youth Congress leader Sudesh Vij, Samata Party leader Arun Pappu and Bajrang Dal activists reached the railway station early this morning and demanded that the cattle be immediately set free as transportation of cows was banned. The owners of the cattle resisted saying that they had due permission from the Deputy Commissioner and the required medical fitness certificates from veterinary doctors and the transportation was completely lawful. This led to an argument with VHP and Congress workers contesting the permission, saying that the ban applied to both bulls and cows and "transportation of these cattle was against their religious sentiments". Deputy Commissioner Som Parkash despatched SDM Vinay Bublani to the site who, after a meeting with the protesters ordered that the bulls be unloaded by the same people who loaded these. As the railway
authorities refused to comply saying that they needed
permission from Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepore,
the protesting activists of various outfits went ahead
and unloaded the bulls from several wagons leading to a
chaotic situation with the cattle running helter-skelter
and blocking the main Delhi-Amritsar highway for some
time. |
||
Chakreshwari fair begins FATEHGARH SAHIB, Oct 23 — The three-day annual fair of Mata Chakreshwari Devi began here today with enthusiasm. Thousands of Jains from all over the country thronged the Jain Temple. Raja Narinder Singh, Minister for Public Health, inaugurated the fair. Addressing the gathering he said the government was committed to the welfare of every section of society. He urged the people to maintain peace and harmony for the development of the state. On the occasion, Mr Krishan Kumar Jain, head of the Jain Sabha, demanded that a board to stop atrocities on animals be set up. He also demanded more funds for the development of the shrine. Mr V.K. Janjua, Deputy
Commissioner, assured more funds for the shrine.
Schoolchildren from various Jain schools presented a
cultural programme. |
||
Punjab Speaker on CPA panel CHANDIGARH, Oct 23 — Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker of the Punjab Assembly has been elected a representative for the Asia region on the executive committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He was also elected as a member of the high-level sub-committee on "International Planning and Programme" during the 45th conference of the association held at Port of Spain. It is for the first time
that a public representative from India has found place
in the working committee and a high-level subcommittee of
the association, simultaneously. |
||
RSS spearheading national
‘renaissance’ CHANDIGARH, Oct 23 — The Punjabi University Pramukh of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Dr B.S. Mann, today expressed concern over the baseless accusations against the RSS by Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, MP. Taking exception to media reports, Dr Mann said the RSS was spearheading a national renaissance. It was a mission in which the best and the noblest of the nation was involved. Dr Mann said the RSS was
also involved actively in protecting the interests of the
minorities and refuted the Akali leaders contention that
the RSS was working against the Christians. The RSS had
helped thousands of Sikhs in 1984 following the death of
Indira Gandhi. |
||
Sarpanch held with poppy husk BATHINDA, Oct 23 — The district police today seized 10 bags of poppy husk from Mr Chattar Singh, the sarpanch of Dialpura Bhaika village, while he, along with two accomplices, was transporting the consignment from Rajasthan to the Rampura Phul area. Police sources said poppy husk was recovered at a naka laid at the boundary of Mehraj village on the canal bridge. The policemen stopped the Tata Sumo vehicle and searched it and recovered the bags containing 3.5 quintal of poppy husk. The other accused were identified as Om Parkash and Brij Lal. Mr Janak Singh, SHO,
when contacted, said a case had been registered under the
NDPS Act and all accused arrested. |
||
100 private buses impounded PHAGWARA, Oct 23 (UNI) — All District Transport Officers in Punjab have been instructed to intensify campaign against private vehicles plying without valid permits and documents. This was stated here today by the State Transport Commissioner, Mr Kulbir Singh, while talking to media persons after addressing a series of meetings with the transport officials. He said more than 100 private buses, including tourist ones of other states, had been impounded and a penalty of Rs 28 lakh had been recovered from the defaulters. A special campaign had also been launched against private taxis plying without valid documents, he added. Replying to a question
he ruled out any possibility to increase bus fares in
Punjab in view of the hike in diesel prices by the
Centre, recently. |
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