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| Saturday, September 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Where diesel stands between life &
death Dharna by paddy growers,
arhtiyas Rain damages paddy in
Jagraon Foodgrains
galore, but people still underfed Punjab tells DMs to review
arms licences
NRIs resent new controls on visits Sunam’s five front
runners |
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Kairon, Uboke men clash, 8 hurt
4 get Baba Farid
awards Badal: Baba Farid an
apostle of peace CD of ‘Gur Shabad
Kirtan’ released Move to cover up
murder case: Dang Patiala to have
extended green belt 11 Akali activists seek
pension
Police to revive beat
system
8 lakh looted in highway robbery ‘Amorous’ employee lands
in lock-up
Thapar students issued ultimatum
TUF sweeps PUTA poll
Teleconferences gain
currency
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Where diesel stands between life &
death AMRITSAR, Sept 22 — It may sound bizarre but this is true that half a litre of diesel can stand between life and death in the government- run Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here. “The abdomens of three patients were opened up when there was a sudden power failure. I asked the Sister (nurse) to approach the department concerned for generator supply. However, I got the reply after 15 minutes that there was no diesel in stock and hence the generator could not run”. “It was after a lot of hue and cry raised by attendants of the patients that the generator was started for a few minutes. However, it was sheer luck that the power supply was restored and the operation could be completed”. This forms part of a protest letter written by a professor of surgery and addressed to the Medical Superintendent regarding the frequent power failures “which could cost a precious human life any moment”. The professor of surgery complained the Generator Department did not inform about the shortage of diesel well in time before the operations were started. Inquiries made by The Tribune revealed diesel for generators in operation theatres has always been in short supply for the past two years. On an average, 25 patients are operated on daily in this hospital, which is attached to the premier medical college which caters to many districts of the state. This sums up the appalling state of affairs of a big hospital which itself needs proper treatment. After the hike in admission fees and operation fees since May 1 last year, the hospital has earned more than Rs 1 crore. However, not even a single paisa could be spent for the improvement of this institute so far. However, Dr Amarjit Singh Negi, Deputy Medical Superintendent, claims the government had allocated Rs 52 lakh for purchasing medical material. The cat scan and ultrasound equipment in the hospital have also not been in working condition for the past so many months and the patients have to spend a heavy amount on this account. The correspondence between the departments presents a pathetic example of lack of coordination between which could claim precious human lives. The communication of the Sub Divisional Officer (SDO), Public Health (PWD), addressed to the Medical Superintendent reads, “This is for your information please that the diesel is out of stock now. The Junior Engineer, Mr Madan Mohan, had to spend Rs 1200 from his pocket to incur the expenditure on diesel but the amount could not be reimbursed so far. In case of any loss to the patient due to power failure, the department (Public Health) won’t be held responsible”. Sources in Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital also reveal generators in this hospital work only during the day and no emergency provision is there, especially for the Gynaecological Department which receives several emergencies throughout the night. Consequently, hospital staff in case of power failure have to undertake a major caesarian section surgery and other types of deliveries using candlelight and torches. There have been several cases that have gone unreported regarding a newborn falling onto the ground or into the bucket kept on the ground during such cases. Fatalities have occurred but were reported as stillborn deliveries. Panic prevailed in the operation theatre of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital yesterday when 12 surgeries were reportedly under way and power failed at about 10.10 a.m. The generator could not be started due to absence of diesel for a good 25 minutes before power supply was resumed at 10.35 a.m. Several relatives of patients admitted for major surgeries created a major ruckus before power was restored. Reportedly, the surgeries include four for gall bladder and one each for hysterectomy, piles, appendicitis and tumour. A recent letter dated September 14 was written to the Medical Superintendent, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Principal, Medical College, Dr Inderjit Shergill, the operation theatre incharge, Dr Bhola Singh, Dr Vikram Gupta, in charge of the plastic surgery ward 2, Dr Gurbaksh Singh for surgery ward no 5, Dr Jaswinder Kaur Gill, surgery ward no. 4, Dr Paramjit Singh Bedi, surgery ward no 3. The letter says, “There is no diesel in the Generator Department of the hospital so much so that Rs 1200 is to be reimbursed to the JE, Mr Madan Mohan, who has personally spent the amount for diesel for the hospital.” Doctors on condition of anonymity say power failure can lead to failure of suction machine which can choke the patients. The failure of cortery machine used to stop bleeding in a patient opened for surgery can lead to excessive loss of blood and dipping blood pressure can lead to instant death. It is learnt a meeting of the assessment committee comprising Vidhan Sabha members and the Principal of the medical college, etc, that was held on August 18 last month had taken no serious note of the problem of depleted diesel supply. Mrs Gurcharan Kaur, general secretary of the Punjab Nurses Association, who was present during the whole incident, condemned the callous attitude of the government. |
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Dharna by paddy growers,
arhtiyas FAZILKA, Sept 22 — Hundreds of farmers, commission agents and Congress party workers led by Dr Mohinder Kumar Rinwa, secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and former MLA from here, staged a dharna before the market committee office to protest against the non-purchase of paddy by government agencies here today. The PPCC secretary while addressing the gathering deplored the state governments attitude by saying that it had advanced paddy procurement by 10 days to gain political mileage for the Suman by election whereas the government agencies had not entered the grain market on the second day too on vague pretexts. Dr Rinwa said hundreds of farmers had been camping in Fazilka market for the past about 15 days, awaiting the purchase of their paddy. So far, about two lakh quintals of paddy had piled up in the market. It was dry and qualified the procurement specifications, added Dr Rinwa. Expressing apprehension that the procuring agencies were likely to delay the procurement up to October 1, he said the farmers were panicky due to the threat of rough weather and unprecedented showers. Dr Rinwa described the entire situation as unfortunate because the farmers who worked hard for the full season of six months had brought their produce in the market but the government was not purchasing it at the price declared by it. He charged the government with trying to befool the farmers. The PPCC secretary lamented that due to non-commencement of paddy procurement the commission agents had also been hit hard. They were facing financial crunch with liability of advancing farmers for sowing next crop looming large with no inflow of cash. Dr Rinwa lashed out at the central government for not declaring levy policy of rice as result of which the rice millers had gone on strike. The millers were therefore not purchasing paddy. The rice milling industry was also likely to be affected adversely, observed Dr Rinwa. Later Dr Rinwa along with other Congress party leaders and farmers presented a memorandum to the SDM, Fazilka, demanding commencement of paddy procurement. Mr S.K. Singla, SDM, said that after holding a joint meeting of officers of the FCI, Markfed and Punsup and representatives of commission agents he had directed the officials of these procuring agencies to start procurement immediately. FATEHGARH SAHIB:
Though the government purchase agencies have entered the grain market to start purchase they have not purchased even a single bag in Sirhind, Asia’s second largest grain market, causing great resentment among the commission agents as well as farmers. The procurement staff allege the paddy is not up to the specification prescribed by the government. While the commission agents termed it an excuse private traders were ready to purchase the paddy below the support price as per the quality, but the farmers refused to sell their produce below the government rates. On the other hand, the DFSC, who has just assumed charge, has locked horns with the commission agents on the issue of lifting, stacking and covering the paddy purchased by the various agencies. The commission agents at a meeting held here on Friday criticised the threatening attitude and the rough language used by the DFSC at a meeting held on Thursday in her office. They have threatened to surrender the licences of all commission agents of the district to the DFSC on Saturday. FEROZEPORE: In a development that could have a bearing on the procurement operation, the employees of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are dragging feet from lifting and purchasing paddy under the prevailing circumstances. In no uncertain terms members of the FCI Employees Democratic Front have cautioned against blocking the procurement, if the problems pertaining to the specifications regarding quality and storage are not addressed before the staff ventures into the field for lifting and purchasing paddy. Fearing that the quality inspectors will become the target of farmers’ wrath, they have warned that there shall be no purchase beyond the specifications. Besides, unscientific storage on account of inadequate space will not be done. The resentful members of the front also apprehend the department’s high-handedness, in case of further storage loss, besides complaints regarding quality and destination. In a statement, the district Chairman of the front, Mr R.L. Narula, has charged the FCI management of targeting the low paid staff for the losses suffered in the past. The front pointed out that against the estimated procurement of 35 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, the department has the vacant storage capacity to hold only seven lakh metric tonnes of paddy. Besides, the instructions that the grain with black spots shall not be purchased will become a stumbling block. The two factors will tie the hands of the field staff from lifting maximum paddy from mandis. Any loss on account of liberal procurement may be attributed to the staff. In such a situation, the field staff finds itself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. MOGA:
Huge paddy stocks belonging to farmers valued at crores of rupees lying in the open both in grain markets and also paddy purchasing centres for want of procurement in the entire district were damaged and discoloured following rain which continued for about two hours intermittently in this region on Thursday evening. Government procuring agencies which entered the market for procurement at about 3 p.m stopped the purchases following rains as the stocks become rain-soaked. PHILLAUR:
The Punjab Rice Millers Association will not mill any paddy of any government agency till sympathetic acceptance of its demands. This decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the association held under the presidentship of Mr Tersem Saini on Thursday. Mr Joginder Paul Vij, spokesman of the association, told this correspondent here on Friday that rice millers of the state were facing acute crisis and the Punjab State Electricity Board had increased minimum charges for an electricity connection. He claimed a high-level meetings of the Punjab Rice Millers Association delegation and Union Food and Supplies Minister Shanta Kumar and Punjab Food and Supply Minister Madan Mohan Mittal could not be fruitful. Meanwhile, only about 15,000 bags of paddy could be purchased by the government agencies out of about 70 lakh bags of paddy which arrived in different mandis of the state on Thursday. TARN TARAN: Hundreds of farmers on Friday blocked traffic at Fatehabad township, 18 km from here, to protest against the non-procurement of paddy. Mr Charanjit Singh Fatehabad, state-level leader of the Bharti Kisan Union, Punjab, led the blockade. The farmers were demanding procurement of paddy should be started without delay and also said the government was knowingly passing on instructions to its agencies not to start paddy procurement to give benefit to the private firms. The DSP, Goindwal Sahib, rushed to the spot. However, he could not pacify the farmers to lift the blockade. |
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Rain damages paddy in
Jagraon JAGRAON (Ludhiana), Sept 22 — Paddy worth lakhs was damaged in the grain market here last evening when rain lashed the region. Hundreds of farmers who were waiting for government agencies to start procurement since last week suffered an estimated loss of about 50 per cent of their total produce. It is feared that the loss would escalate as the rain had considerably increased the moisture content in paddy, thus seriously affecting its quality. If the procuring agencies reject the produce, farmers say they will have no option but to sell their hard-earned produce at low rates to private buyers. While farmers in other grain markets of the state might be busy in striking deals with representatives of the procurement agencies, the unfortunate ones in this and adjoining grain markets were seen saving as much quantity of paddy as they could. Armed with shovels and spades, farmers and labourers were seen spreading out the paddy for drying. Their task was, however, made difficult by puddles that had formed on the market’s platform. According to inquiries, almost all heaps of the about 30,000 tonnes of paddy that had arrived in this market were inundated in water last evening. Not only the heaps lying in the open but those presumably safe under the sheds were also equally affected. Lack of proper arrangement for sheltering the produce from rain, low plinth level of the market’s platform coupled with improper drainage facilities were the major reasons for multiplying the losses of the farmers. The farmers have actually been hit from two quarters this year. While the disease called ‘tela’ had already affected the yield of paddy in this region, the rain last evening proved to be the last nail in the coffin for a majority of the farmers. The farmers are outraged as they feel they can be held responsible for any loss to the crop in the fields but it is the government alone which can be held responsible for damage to the produce in the market. Jagminder Singh, one of the affected farmers, criticised the government for the improper arrangements in the market. He said it was a pity that only three to four hours of rain was enough to make the arrangement in the market go awry. Parminder Singh, a visibly upset and agitated farmer, demanded a high-level inquiry in the construction work carried out for the grain market. He alleged though crores were spent on the construction yet the market was bereft of proper arrangements. ‘‘The plinth level is too low due to which puddles form on the platform.The improper drainage system only helps in accumulation of rain water.” Gurminder Singh, another farmer, lamented that the farmers had been suffering losses due to rain for the last number of years but the government had still not improved the conditions here. He said even the newly constructed roofs of the sheds had developed leaks.
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Foodgrains
galore, but people still underfed LUDHIANA, Sept 22 — The problem of
foodgrains galore that the country is currently facing, can well be
attributed to the lag effect of our policy makers and mismatch of
demand and supply. The country is presently overflowing with foodgrains (wheat and rice). The current stock is reportedly around 422 lakh tonnes, 180 lakh tonnes in excess of the buffer stocks. Add to this an estimated 25 million tonnes of foodgrains produced each year. It is estimated that after five years, the stocks would rise to 670 lakh tonnes. These stocks are estimated to be worth Rs 33,000 crore, including Rs 14,000 crore for stocks exceeding the buffer stocks. Even the total area under paddy and wheat production has been increasing with each passing year. This year 26 lakh hectares in the state is under paddy cultivation and 33.4 lakh hectares under wheat cultivation. It may also be noted that this year the wheat production in the country was highest in the world per unit area per unit time at 159 lakh tonnes and up by 15 lakh tonnes from last year. Though the agrarian economy is not yet affected by the bumper crop produced each year or the existing stocks, agriculture scientists and economists feel otherwise. The only salvation for streamlining agriculture, they point out, is that the government agencies step in for the procurement of these crops and at increasing minimum support prices each year. It is worth mentioning here that in spite of the problem of plenty in foodgrains this year the farmers of the country gained Rs 1225 crore by selling the wheat crop alone. Dr
S.S. Johal, former Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University and an
economist, says, “The problem that our agriculture sector is now
facing is the result of the Green Revolution, which never aimed or
looked beyond increasing the foodgrain production. As a result we have
a demand gap with increasing costs.” He says that the irony is
that though there is surplus in foodgrains, but still a large part of
our population is going without two square meals a day. Agriculture scientists are deeply concerned over the increasing cost of production of our foodgrains, especially the costs incurred during transportation and storage and the wastage during storage. Dr
K.S. Aulakh, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, says
“around 30 per cent of our foodgrains are lost during storage
because of poor infrastructure and lack of transportation facilities.
Other than this, the foodgrains are not even processed on time and as
a result lose out on their quality. Take the example of paddy. If the
quality has to be maintained, then shelling has to be done before
February, but milling of rice is generally done in May and June. As a
result the rice grains milled are often broken.” Other than rice, the other major foodgrain, wheat, is also believed to be of poor quality. The protein content in the wheat produced here is quite less as is the fact that we produce soft wheat, which is not acceptable in the International market where hard wheat is required for making bread. Dr
Joginder Singh, Professor and Head, Department of Economics, PAU,
said, “The Indian wheat sells at $ 95 per ton but the cost incurred
on production till the transportation and storage stages is around $
200. In contrast, the American wheat is available at $ 118-120 per ton
and is also believed to have a higher nutritional value.” He
further said the export of wheat held little charm as marketing of
wheat from Canada and USA was 100 per cent subsidised and so they came
cheap. It is learnt that the Ministry of Food had recently explored the opportunity of exporting the buffer stock of wheat to other countries. It was found that though the Indian government was procuring the wheat at the rate of Rs 580 per quintal and by adding the surcharge on transportation and storage it worked out to be more than Rs 700 per quintal. However, Russia offered to buy our wheat at Rs 340 per quintal and a few Gulf nations at the rate of Rs 450 per quintal. Even the Australian wheat was available at around Rs 100 per quintal cheaper than the Indian wheat. Even the Indian rice is fast losing its charm in the international market with only a marginal percentage increase in export. The main reason behind this was that everywhere else there was 95 per cent subsidy on marketing and rice was thus cheaper. Most experts agree that the production of both wheat and rice cannot be stopped or reduced, but internal prices have to be regularised and consumption patterns have to be changed. They are of the opinion that rather than providing the subsidy on inputs, investment subsidies have to be provided to the farmers. Dr
Johal says,” The need is to plan and target subsidies up to a
certain acreage and to give capital subsidies to farmers. A change is
required in enhancing the quality of wheat and creating private
entrepreneurship for storage and transportation.” |
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NRIs resent new controls on visits CHANDIGARH, Sept 22 — Canada-based non-resident Indians (NRIs) in general and non-resident Punjabis (NRPs) in particular have sought the immediate intervention of the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, in the matter of new controls introduced by the Union Government on their visits to their motherland. The Punjabi community of North America also wants Mr Badal to take up with the Union External Affairs Ministry the issue of allowing foreign missions to set up their consulate offices outside the four cosmopolitan cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. The Union Ministry of External Affairs had recently turned down a request from the Canadian High Commission to convert its Chandigarh trade office into a consulate office on the plea that the existing policy does not permit it. Talking to The Tribune on the telephone, Mr Beant Singh Dhaliwal, president, Shiromani Youth Akali Dal, Canada, said this denial of permission to the Canadian High Commission and the imposition of tough controls on NRIs and NRPs visiting their homeland had led to a lot of resentment among Indian expatriates in Canada and the USA. The efforts of Indo-Canadian Members of the House of Commons in getting the trade office in Chandigarh upgraded to a consulate office had not been reciprocated either by the Indian Government or by the Punjab Government to facilitate visits by a large number of Punjabis who had made Canada their second home. The policy of the External Affairs Ministry of not allowing consulate offices or diplomatic missions outside the four cosmopolitan cities was of British times and needed to be changed for the convenience of the general public, Mr Dhaliwal said. Except for eulogising the contribution of NRPs to the overall development of the nation in general and Punjab in particular, the Union Government had done little to provide them with basic facilities as had been extended to expatriates of other states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, he added. Most of the southern states with much lower NRI traffic had been provided with international airports while no such facility had been extended to Punjab, he added maintaining that more than 27 per cent of the total international traffic from Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi to destinations in Europe and North America was from Punjab. Quoting the views of Mr Raj Babbar, MP from Agra, Mr Dhaliwal said that all Punjabis had very strong connections with their roots and that was why even the third and fourth generation Punjabis always longed to visit the motherland of their parents and grandparents. Many non-Punjabis, he said, had severed all connections with their roots. He substantiated his claim by quoting the example of Indian expatriates in the West Indies, Fiji and several other countries who had never visited India. Mr Dhaliwal also wanted that the Punjab Government should felicitate Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, a son of Punjab, on becoming the first Indo-Canadian Premier of a Canadian province. Mr Dhaliwal said that hundreds of Punjabis not only spent huge amounts of money but also wasted their time and underwent avoidable harassment in visiting the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi to get visas and return resident permits, renew their Canadian passports or complete other official formalities. With the Canadian Government had been keen and eager to upgrade its trade office to the level of consulate in Chandigarh, the Indian Government was creating obstacles in the way of this facility being extended to people from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, Mr Dhaliwal said. Mr Dhaliwal said that policies and rules were made to help people and not to inconvenience them. He appealed to Mr Badal to take up this issue with the NDA government at the Centre. Mr Dhaliwal said that the new rule introduced by the Union Government that all NRIs or NRPs visiting their motherland should get themselves registered with the police in case their stay exceeded 15 days would lead to nothing but harassment. “This is very impractical rule. People coming to India or Punjab for a short holiday have such a heavy schedule of meeting relatives, in-laws and friends that this unnecessary restriction will deter them from visiting their motherland. They have a very poor impression of the police in India to which they would now be forced to go to get themselves registered. Their apprehensions of harassment and corruption are not baseless”, he said. “We want Mr Badal to take up this issue with the Union Government on a priority basis also. There is a lot of resentment here,” Mr Dhaliwal said. A meeting of the Canada unit of the Dal, he said, was held at Brampton on September 20 which was attended by, among others, Mr Bachittar Singh Gholian, Mr Mandeep Singh Toor, Mr Jagsir Singh Sira, Mr Jaswinder Singh Gill, Mr Baldev Singh Grewal, Mr Amar Singh Ghalauti, Mr Balwant Singh, Mr Baldev Singh and Mr Mandip Singh Buttar. All these issues, he said, were discussed threadbare at the meeting. The Canada unit also decided to extend its full support to Mr Badal, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Mr Parminder Singh Dhindsa in the ensuing Sunam byelection. |
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Punjab tells DMs to review
arms licences NEW DELHI, Sept 22 — In the wake of the Centre’s direction for proliferation of arms in the border districts of Punjab, the state government recently issued instructions to all district magistrates to review the arms licences issued in the past five years and to cancel the licences issued to those who are in “doubtful category”. The Punjab Government has also asked the district magistrates to check indiscriminate issue of arms licences to ensure that the public is not subjected to any hardship. The Union Home Ministry’s directions in this regard were made a couple of months ago following an internal report on the issue. According to Home Ministry sources, the report had indicated issue of a large number of arms licences in the border districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Ferozepore especially during 1997 to 2000. The report had also pointed out that there were instances where licences were issued to persons “not residing” in these three districts and having a “criminal record”, without proper verification or antecedents. Alarmed over the report, the Union Home Ministry had requested the Punjab Government to take necessary steps to streamline the procedures for grant of arms licences and also to review the licences issued in recent years in the border districts to prevent unauthorised issue of licences and their misuse. According to a senior Home Ministry official “the Punjab Government has taken serious note of the issue and have taken swift action in this regard.” The Home Ministry had some time ago asked the Nagaland Government also to take steps to streamline the procedures for grant of arms
licences.
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Sunam’s five front
runners SUNAM: Of the 13 candidates in the fray for the Sunam Assembly bye-election on September 29, only five are in the reckoning and their parties are campaigning hard for them. Each candidate has his own reasons to predict his victory. The five who have attracted the attention of the people with the presence of their top party leaders are Mr Parminder Singh Dhindsa (SAD), Ms Parmeshwari Devi (Congress), Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra (Sanjha Morcha), Prof Sukhjinder Singh (SAD-A) and Mr Sampuran Singh Chhajli (CPI). Mr Dhindsa, is a son of Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Union Minister for Sports and Mines. This youthful candidate is a general secretary of the Youth Wing of the Shiromani Akali. Dal. Ms Parmeshwari Devi is the widow of Bhagwan Dass Arora, Congress MLA from Sunam, whose death, alleged to be suicide, on July 3, has caused the by-election. She was married to the late Bhagwan Dass Arora in 1961 and has two sons and two daughters. She now looks after her late husband’s business. She had been campaigning for her husband in the last two elections. Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra is a big name in political circles. He taught economics in Government College, Dera Bassi. Before that he was President of the Students Union, Punjabi University, Patiala, and the founder president of the Shiromani Youth Akali Dal. He was a minister in the Barnala Government. He became a member of 11th and 12th Lok Sabha. At present, he is general secretary of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD). Prof Sukhjinder Singh is a senior vice-president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). He belongs to Sunam and was a lecturer in Physical Education in Guru Teg Bahadur College at Bhawanigarh for 16 years, but resigned the job in 1996 to do active work for the SAD(A). Mr Sampuran Singh Chhajli is an advocate and an active member of the CPI. He has been practicing law in Sunam since 1969. He has been a member of the Punjab State Executive of the CPI since 1986. |
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Women campaigners to the
fore PATIALA, Sept 22 — Women leaders are coming to the fore in Sunam, lending a personal touch to the campaign of both major parties in the fray — the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress . While women leaders have played an important role in Congress politics traditionally, it is the interest shown by women leaders of the SAD which has heartened poll pundits. The women SAD leaders are trying hard to break the anti-establishment vote by winning over their male counterparts. In case of the SAD, the women folk of the Dhindsa family, including his wife Harjit Kaur, daughters Ramandeep Kaur and Mandeep Sandhu and daughter-in-law and candidate Parminder Singh Dhindsa’s wife Gagandeep Kaur are all fully involved in the campaign. Besides them, the party has fielded its women ministers Upinderjit Kaur and Satwant Kaur Sandhu along with State Women’s Commission Chairperson Surinder Kaur Grewal and Mrs Anoopinder Kaur, wife of Subordinate Services Chairman Tajinderpal Singh Sandhu. The target before the women leaders canvassing for the Badal Dal candidate is clear to convert the anti-establishment vote in favour of the party by establishing a personal rapport with the electorate. They are moving out with a group of women with them. Right now, they are concentrating on the villages, after having toured the two towns in the constituency. Sources say the Akali women are concentrating most on the backward castes colonies in the villages. The aim is to veer these people around to the party as they are traditional Congress voters. For the Congress, former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Patiala Lok Sabha member Preneet Kaur are leading the charge. Both have contrasting ways of campaigning. While Mrs Bhattal launches a frontal attack on the Akalis holding them responsible for all the ills facing the state, Mrs Preneet Kaur speaks of the money released from her discretionary funds for the Assembly segment . She says the district administration recently distributed cheques for works proposed to be taken up in the constituency on her behalf. Striking a sentimental note, she gives details of the works recommended by former minister Bhagwan Das Arora, which she discloses are being taken up. The thrust of her speeches is not to trust the Akalis as “they have not done anything for the constituency ever since Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa lost from here.” Other women leaders of the Congress, including Ms Gurkanwal Kaur, take the cue from here to highlight the achievements of the family of Arora. Mrs Arora is being projected as a woman who knows their problems and will find solutions for them. The Congress candidate Parmeshwari Devi is also playing the woman card while appealing for votes on emotional lines. |
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Election vehicles
confiscated SUNAM, Sept 22 — The district administration has confiscated three vehicles — one each of the SAD, the SAD(A) and the SHSAD for using loudspeakers without a permit in the Sunam Assembly byelection. Addressing a joint press conference along with the SSP, Sangrur, Mr Jatinder Singh Aulakh, here today, Mr Anirudh Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner, said the vehicles had been confiscated as part of commitment of the administration to implement the model code of conduct strictly and hold free and fair elections in a smooth manner. The Deputy Commissioner said that five gazetted officers had been put on duty round the clock for implementation of the code of conduct. As many as 147 polling booths have been set up in Sunam of which 55 are sensitive. Photo identity cards had been issued to 81 per cent of voters so far. To impart training to voters in the use of electronic voting machine (EVM), the training process had begun at polling booths from today. EVMs would be sealed with two seals, one of which would be broken on the polling day and the other on counting day. He refuted the allegations that photo identity cards were being snatched or purchased from the voters to prevent them from voting in favour of certain candidates.
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Kairon, Uboke men clash, 8 hurt TARN TARAN, Sept 22 — Calm prevailed on the second day today at Uboke village falling under police station Patti after a clash occurred yesterday between supporters of Mr Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Minister for Excise and Taxation, Punjab, and Mr Major Singh
Uboke, former MP and a SHSAD leader. Eight persons were injured in the cross firing between the two groups yesterday at the village of Mr Major Singh Uboke. Old rivalry is said to be the reason behind the clash, sources said. According to sources, the clash occurred between groups of villagers, one group led by Mr Charan Singh, the present Sarpanch and the second led by Mr Sakattar Singh, a former Sarpanch. Mr Charan Singh is the supporter of Mr Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, while Mr Sakattar Singh is a supporter of Mr Uboke. Both the groups used fire arms and other weapons, including lathis, datars etc. On the complaint of Mr Gursahib Singh, a supporter of Sarpanch Charan Singh, the Patti police has lodged an FIR under Sections 307, 323, 148 and 149 IPC and 25, 27, 54, 49 of the Arms Act against Sukhwinder Singh, Sewa Singh, Jodha Singh, Gurnam Singh, Tara Singh, Harnek Singh and Harpal Singh, supporter of the rival group.
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4 get Baba Farid
awards FARIDKOT: Gurdwara Godri Sahib Baba Farid Society has selected four persons for their honesty in government service as well as service to mankind and society. Those selected for awards are Mr Hem Raj Mittal, former chairman of the Subordinate Services Selection Board, Punjab; Mr G.L. Chopra, District and Sessions Judge (retd), Mr Harnam Singh, Additional District and Sessions Judge (retd); and Sant Amar Singh of Ferozepore Cantonment (also chosen for the Bhagat Puran Singh Award for service to humanity). Mr Inderjit Singh Sekhon, president of the society, said awards would be given to the four at the conclusion of the Baba Farid Mela on September 23. He said Mr Mittal started his career as a clerk. Later he shifted to teaching and then became Deputy Education Officer before he took over the affairs of Subordinate Service Selection Board. He provided jobs to more than 37,000 persons during his chairmanship even though his relatives were unemployed. An example is his son, who secured a diploma in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, but is running from pillar to post to get a government job. At present, Mr Mittal runs a “chakki” to earn enough to feed himself and members of his family. Mr Mittal, who did MA and BT, never compromised with corruption and kept political touts away with strong determination. Mr G.L. Chopra, who along with Mr Harnam Singh have been given a joint award, served with honesty and dispensed justice without fear or favour. Both judicial officers worked during the heyday of terrorism in Punjab. Mr Chopra after retirement from service served as Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nauru, a country in the Pacific. Sant Amar Singh is an embodiment of humility with unflinching faith in the Sikh Gurus. He had been serving the people at large, Mr Sekhon stated. He had directed that his award money be distributed among the poor. All these persons would be given a cash award of Rs 51,000, a shawl and an appreciation certificate. |
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Badal: Baba Farid an
apostle of peace FARIDKOT, Sept 22 — More than 20,000 persons from different parts of the state witnessed a cultural programme organised in connection with the Aagman Purab (birth anniversary) of Baba Sheikh Farid at the local Nehru Stadium today. Troupes from various states, including Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu presented folk dances. Sardool Sikandar and Kanwaljit Neeru, Punjabi singers, regaled the audience. The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, was the chief guest. Addressing the gathering, he said Baba Farid was an apostle of peace, who preached the ideals of love of God, brotherhood, social equality and truthful living. Mr Badal observed that for the diffusion of his universal gospel, Baba Farid chose the language of the people of Punjab and claimed the unique honour of being the father-figure of the Punjabi language, literature and culture. He said due to his firm ideals, Baba Farid’s poetry was included in Guru Granth Sahib. The Chief Minister honoured Mr Gurdial Singh, Punjabi novelist and Gianpeeth awardee and Mr Nirmal Sandhu, music director, for promoting Punjabi culture and music, respectively. Mr Badal also presented a cash reward of Rs 10,000 to a troupe of Tamil Nadu for exhibiting kargam dance. Mr A. Venu Parsad, Deputy Commissioner and Chairman of the cultural society, welcomed the chief guest. |
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CD of ‘Gur Shabad
Kirtan’ released AMRITSAR, Sept 22 — Dr Gurnam Singh, Head of the Department of Music, Punjabi University Patiala, has handed over the first copy of the “Gur Shabad Kirtan” CD containing all 62 ragas as mentioned in the holy Guru Granth Sahib to the manager of the Golden Temple. Later, while addressing a press conference, at the information office of the SGPC, Dr Gurnam Singh claimed that the Shiromani Committee had recognised the CD as the first such effort in the history of Sikhism. He claimed that he had used all traditional “Taantisaaz” (string instruments) which were used by the Gurus and their followers for more than 400 years. However, he said for the past 100 years or so the ragis had stopped using “tanti saaz” while singing Gurbani even in the Golden Temple. “They (ragis) use harmonium and other western instruments” he said. Dr Gurbachan Singh Bachan, Secretary, SGPC, assured Dr Gurnam Singh that the ‘hukamnamas’ from holy Granth Sahib would be sent on Shiromani Committee’s website in the 62 “ragas” as contained in the “Gur Shabad Kirtan”. To highlight, further and foster a much comprehensive and unique “raga” tradition of the “Gurmat Sangeet” Dr Gurnam Singh took up the task of composing and reciting Gurbani in its 62 “ragas” in keeping with the originality of the “Gurmat Sangeet” tradition. Dr Gurnam Singh provided academic hue to the Sikh musicology by recording various dimensions of “ragas” and forms of Guru Grandh Sahib drawing them from various available sources and combining them into a classic work “Adi Granth: Raaga Kosh” in 1983 and followed it up by obtaining a doctorate on a musicological study of Guru Nanak Bani. Dr Singh has authored 10 books and edited 26 books. He has four audio and two video cassettes to his credit comprising unique vocal music compositions. He played a pivotal role in getting the subject of “Gurmat sangeet” introduced at Punjabi University, Patiala and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar besides the starting of a diploma course in “Gurmat sangeet” at Punjabi University. |
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Move to cover up murder case:
Dang AMRITSAR, Sept 22 — Veteran CPI leader Satya Pal Dang, while referring to the Naresh Mahajan murder case alleged that no murder case could be solved if the chief executive officer or his men wished to the contrary. Narrating the history of the case he said at first a top police office declared it to be a suicide case without even looking at the deceased’s body. Then within a year the case was handed over to 8 SPs and once to a DSPO without letting anyone really delve into the facts. Finally, when an SP did manage to book some people accused of the destruction of evidence anticipatory bails were procured and the case was immediately transferred to the Crime Branch. Family of the deceased urged the Chief Minister to let the case be handled by the SP in Amritsar who had booked some persons. But, the said SP was promoted and transferred to Bhatinda while the case was sent back to Amritsar. While the father of Naresh was offered old-age pension when he met the Chief Minister in this connection, a writ petition regarding the case still hangs in the High Court pending for nearly a year. The case relates to “parallel banking” and the possibility of the deceased being a part of the nexus could not be ruled out. In such a scenario Mr Dang questioned the powers behind the alleged cover-up in solving the murder case pending since the past two years.
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Patiala to have
extended green belt PATIALA, Sept 22 — To upgrade the green belt area of Patiala, the Forest Department in collaboration with the Japanese Bank for International Corporation has taken up a project on afforestation. The first phase of the seven-year project which started in 1998-99 has already reclaimed about 12,000 hactares of saline alkaline land for this purpose. However, this achievement is still a long way from its target. Patiala which looks greener in comparison to many other cities of Punjab has a green belt of about 5 percent of it’s total area, said the district forest officer Mr H.S. Grewal. It is, however, much below the required forest area as specified by the National Forest Policy in 1966, according to which 33 per cent of the total area should be under the forest cover. Other than afforestation the Rs 400 crore Japanese project has chosen research, infrastructure development, computerisation and installation of Geographical Information System (GIS) as the major thrust areas. Improvised techniques have been bought to make this project a success, said Mr Grewal. Root trainers which is the latest technology in plantation is being used to plant the saplings. With this technology the survival rate for the plants have gone upto 92 per cent, he added. The samplings selected under this project are mainly the long lasting varieties like
shisham, arjan, white ciras, teak, drumstick, jamun and mango.
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11 Akali activists seek
pension FEROZEPORE, Sept 22 — As many as 11 Akali activists, including nine who took part in the anti-emergency movement, have applied for pension to the district administration. This follows the Punjab Government decision to honour Akali activists who participated in various “morchas” or agitations while in the Opposition. Two Akalis have applied as they participated in the 1981 Dharam Yudh Morcha. Under the scheme, the state government will give Rs 300 as pension to each activist who underwent an imprisonment of at least six months during the Sisganj Sahib Gurdwara Movement, the Emergency, the Dharam Yudh Morcha and the Punjabi Suba Movement. Those who were detained for three months will be honoured. The applicants are required to submit a certified and an affidavit to the authorities in this regard. However, the move is not free from criticism, as other political parties feel it will hard press the state Exchequer. Besides, it is not known whether all Akalis, irrespective of their factional affiliations, will be honoured. |
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Trust changes rules,
draws flak JALANDHAR, Sept 22 — The functioning of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust came under criticism when it changed the rules for the allotment of flats in Saraswati Vihar Colony under the torrorist-affected persons category.
The trust had invited applications for the allotment of flats in Saraswati Vihar Colony in April for the relatives of those who were killed during the terrorism period of the state.
But the trust changed rules on July 21 and prepared a list of applicants on the basis of the death date of terrorist victim thus abolishing the lottery system. |
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Badal lays stone of
bus stand building MOGA, Sept 22 — The Punjab Government has decided to construct as many as 87 modern bus stands in cities and rural areas all over the state. The construction work will be completed within a year. The Chief Minister, Mr Prakash Singh Badal, said this here while laying the foundation stone of buildings of Punjab Roadways bus stand here today. The construction of the bus stand will be completed by June next and it will cost Rs 4.25 crore, Mr Badal said.
The Punjab Government has also decided to set up mini secretariates at almost all district headquarters for the convenience of the litigants and general public. Mr Badal said the state government would also complete construction work of all roads in the state during the current financial year.
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Badal may visit
North America CHANDIGARH, Sept 22 — The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, may visit North America in the first week of October. According to a report filed by Punjabi Tribune’s reporter from Vancouver, Mr Badal will arrive in Vancouver on October 3 and will proceed to Victoria, capital of British Columbia next day. The Premier of British Columbia, Mr Ujjal Dosanj, will play host to Mr Badal. According to the report, Mr Badal would also address the Provincial Assembly. He would also visit the constituencies of Punjabi ministers in the British Columbia.
According to unconfirmed reports, Mr Badal will also visit the USA and also meet NRIs to persuade them to set up IT ventures in Punjab. Last time, Mr Badal had visited the USA for treating liver problem.
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Tribune employee bereaved JALANDHAR, Sept 22 — Raj Kumar Batra (33), brother of Satish Batra, a Tribune employee working at the Jalandhar sub-office died at Phagwara, 25 km from here, today.
The rasam chauthala will be held tomorrow morning at H.No. 6/2, Bansa Wala Bazar, Phagwara. |
Police to revive beat
system JALANDHAR, Sept 22 — Moving a step towards the proposed introduction of proactive or community form of policing in the state, the Jalandhar police has decided to revive the beat system in the cantonment area as a pilot project. The proactive or community policing, which is popular in the West and almost all developed countries, entails direct involvement of people in the prevention of crime. The concept of community policing has been there in India and even forms part of the Punjab Police Rules since long, but had never been implemented effectively. The Director-General of the Punjab Police, Mr Sarbjit Singh, has already launched a model community policing project with an aim to prevent the occurance of crime with the help of people to gradually replace the reactive form of policing, which primarily depended upon use of force, sharpening of crime detection skills, use of modern vehicles and gadgets like computers to solve the crime immediately after its taking place. As suggested by Mr David Bailley, the proponent of the proactive policing in the world, the police authorities were planning to go in for welfare measures like organising of de-addiction camps and reaching out to people through the beat system. The police authorities were planning to launch their pilot project in connection with the revival of the beat system in the Jalandhar cantonment area having a population of nearly 35,000 to 40,000 within a period of one week. The entire area would be divided into 14 beats and each of the beats would be manned by a head constable and an ASI would be in charge of a bunch of three beats. As many as 42 police officials had been reserved for the beat duty and they would not be put on the VIP duties. ‘‘Each constable and beat officer will be assigned a particular area and will be held responsible in case of any crime in the area,’’ said Mr Gaurav Yadav, SSP. In the present set up crime prevention and detection was facing a number of problems, particularly when a number of officials were put on VIP duties. Under the proposed system every beat constable would have to walk down and roam about in his area daily, would have to gather information in connection with crime-prone pockets, temples, schools, liquor kiosks and bad elements and record the information in the evening in a register to be maintained at the beat. Besides this, jobs like character verification would also be the responsibility of the beat in charge, who in turn would result in lessening of problems for people, said Mr Yadav. Mr Yadav said the biggest advantage of the beat system would be that police and people would come closer to each other, which in turn would solve many a problems. ‘‘Moreover, we will be in a position to fix the responsibility in case of occurance of crime in a particular area and the result will be that police officials will work with more dedication,’’ said Mr Yadav, adding that the project would be introduced in the entire district in a phased manner after the success of the pilot project. |
8 lakh looted in highway robbery GARHSHANKAR, Sept 22 — Three unidentified assailants snatched Rs 8 lakh from a woman at gunpoint. The woman, Jaswinder Kaur, was travelling in her Maruti Esteem car on the Garhshankar-Nawanshahr road near Alachaur village when she was overtaken by a Maruti car which blocked her way. Once she stopped, three unidentified gunmen came out and snatched Rs 8 lakh, a mobile phone and the papers of her car and fled. In her complaint to the police, Jaswinder stated that she was taking the money for the purchase of plots. The Garhshankar police has registered a case under Sections 382/506 IPC. |
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‘Amorous’ employee lands
in lock-up JALANDHAR, Sept 22 — A local jeweller’s employee had to pay a heavy price for his “amorous instinct” as he not only lost jewellery worth Rs 2.82 lakh but also landed in the custody of the police. Vishal Chadha, who had been working at Emm Cee Bangles in Model Town market for the past four years, was given a consignment of 30 pairs of diamond-studded earnings and two pendants worth Rs 2.82 lakh by his employer for delivering it to another jeweller and some customers in the city. But the jeweller was shocked when Vishal informed him that three scooter-borne persons had snatched the jewellery box from him in broad daylight on August 22. Even as a case was registered, the police got suspicious and after investigations it was revealed that Vishal had cooked up the story to befool his employer and the police. After being nabbed by the police, however, Vishal confessed and revealed that after delivering four of the 30 pairs of earrings to different customers, he had gone to the house of Raj Kumar, alias Raju in Buta Pind locality to ‘spend some time’ with a prostitute who had been arranged for him by Raj Kumar and his wife Sukhwinder Kaur, alias Sukhi. While he was inside the room, Raj Kumar and Sukhi stole the jewellery box fom his scooter and did not return it to him even after an argument. Thus Vishal was forced to concoct the story to save his skin. Mr Gaurav Yadav, SSP, said a raid at the house of Raj Kumar had led to the recovery of a part of the stolen jewellery, while most of it had been sold by the couple to Deepak Kumar, alias Happy, a jeweller in Raj Nagar, Basti Bawa Khel locality and the amount was used by Raj Kumar to repay a vehicle loan. Deepak, Raj Kumar and Sukhi have been arrested under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC. |
Thapar students issued ultimatum PATIALA, Sept 22 — The Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET) authorities have taken a serious view of boycott of classes by first year students of the Bachelor of Engineering (BE) course following hike in tuition fee and development charges by warning their parents to ensure that their ward reached the institute on September 27 if interested in pursuing further studies . The students of first year had boycotted classes on September 20 after all their pleas for retracting the fee hike did not bear fruit. They were addressed by the institute Director, Dr M.P. Kapoor, the same day, who had directed them to assume classes immediately in the afternoon or else vacate their hostel rooms . As students did not resume classes, the authorities got their hostel rooms vacated. While a majority of the students have gone home, some are staying with their local guardians presently. The crisis had erupted after the governing council of the institute decided to increase the tuition fee by more than 50 per cent from Rs 16,000 to Rs 24,000. It also made the development charge an annual feature making it mandatory for the students to pay Rs 3,500 every year instead of the one time charge of Rs 5,500 earlier. According to the letter which has been couriered to all parents, a fait accompli has been presented to them. The parents have been told that their ward committed an act of indiscipline by boycotting classes in spite of counselling by wardens, deans and the institute Director urging them to refrain from the path of agitation. The letter states due to this act of indiscipline, the authorities had been constrained to direct the students to vacate their hostels the same day. The letter states that in case the students are interested in pursuing further studies in the institute they must report to the Dean, Academic Affairs, on September 27 along with an undertaking from the parents. The undertaking, which is to signed by the parents, states that their ward will not indulge in any act of indiscipline in future, will abide by the rules of the institute framed from time to time and will abide by the final decision of the Board of Governors of the institute with regard to the fee revision . Parents are, however, incensed at the directions of the institute. Talking to TNS several of them said the institute could not say they were free to take their children elsewhere now when all other gates had been closed. They said the institute did mention in its information brochure that tuition and development fees would be revised upwards, but did not revise the fee structure till the time of counselling as promised by them. They said due to this many parents felt that the fee hike had been put off. They said even afterwards despite the fact that the governing council took a decision to hike the tuition fee and the development charges on August 3, they did not inform students and parents of the hike still September 12. They alleged that in this way institute had closed the doors on the students who would have migrated to other engineering colleges in the region. Meanwhile, the institute authorities stated that the representation of the students urging for a roll back in the fee hike had been forwarded to the Chairman, Board of Governor and that the Chairman would take the final decision on the issue.
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TUF sweeps PUTA poll PATIALA, Sept 22 — The Teachers’ United Front (TUF) yesterday made a clean sweep in the Punjabi University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) elections giving a severe drubbing to the pro Vice Chancellor United-Teachers’ Front (UTF) by claiming all the office-bearer seats at stake and gaining a majority in the executive committee . It was a complete reveral of roles this year as UTF had swept the poll last year. TUF candidates claimed all office-bearer posts, including that of president, vice president, secretary and joint secretary besides winning four out of the seven executive committee seats. There was a close contest only for the post of president of PUTA with TUF nominee Bhupinder Singh Khaira defeating UTF candidate Manjit Singh by a margin of six votes. Dr Khaira secured 178 votes as against 172 secured by Dr Manjit Singh. For the other posts it was a virtual walkover with the TUF nominees posting easy margins. TUF nominee Dr Raghbir Chand Gupta was elected vice president defeating Dr S.S. Grewal of UTF by a margin of 61 votes. Dr Balwinder Singh Tiwana was elected secretary defeating UTF candidate Harpal Singh Pannu by a margin of 30 votes. Dr J.S. Pasricha of UTF defeated Dr R.K. Ghair of UTF for the post of joint secretary . Among those elected to the executive from TUF were Dr Joga Singh, Dr S.S. Gill, Dr Man Singh Dhindsa and Prof Harwinder Singh Bhatti. The UTF winners were Dr Jamshed Ali Khan, Dr Ajit Singh Bhatia and Dr R.N. Mishra. The highlight of the poll was the number of teachers who abstained from voting for either of the two candidates in various categories. This sources said was a new trend. As many as 42 teachers did not vote for any of the candidates for the post of president , as many as 38 did not vote for either of the two candidates standing for general secretaryship and 33 teachers did not vote for either of the two persons standing for vice president. The run up to the poll had witnessed hectic politicking with clear cut lines being drawn between the two groups. TUF in its various statements and appeals had highlighted that UTF constituent had not done anything for the good of teachers during their stint in power last year and had diluted the authority of PUTA by taking benefits from the university authorities. UTF had tried to highlight the work done by it in getting part of the arrears of teachers released besides getting the Merit Promotion Scheme and the Career Advancement Scheme started in the university. |
Teleconferences gain
currency JALANDHAR, Sept 22 — Video conferencing may still be a distant dream for most Indians but teleconferencing has become the in thing in political and media circles of Punjab where teleconferences have gradually started replacing the traditional press conferences. The new phenomena has been gaining popularity and has been in vogue in Jalandhar, the media capital of northern India, for quite some time, particularly after the recent hotting up of the poll arena in Suman and since political leaders and mediapersons find it easy to discuss issues over telephone for this mode is less cumbersome and consumes less time than the traditional press conferences. Moreover, teleconferencing has the
advantage of being cheaper than the routine press conferences as there is no need for people to book an expensive hotel in advance and spend a fortune in offering food and wine to media people. Now all they have to do is to ring up reporters and converge at a common place, which has the facility of a mobile or an ordinary phone and intiate a dialogue. Interestingly, the concept of the teleconferencing, wherein political personalities talk to a select group of scribes over mobile or land-set, was introduced in the first week of September by pro-Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and pro-Captain Amarinder Singh leader of the Congress. No such conference has been organised by any of the Akali leaders. Mr Anil Datta, who was recently reinstated by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee as organising secretary had organised a teleconference of the All-India Congress Committee general secretary, Mr Moti Lal Vora, on September 15. Anohter teleconference was the one of former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal on September 6. Mr Tejinder Bittu, a loyalist of the PPCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, organised a similar distance conference involving mediapersons and Captain Amarinder Singh as his Milap Chowk hotel today. Teleconferencing may have been convenient for a few journalists and not for the entire media tribe of the city having a concentration of more than a dozen major vernacular dailies since at the maximum it involves two to four scribes at one time. Nonetheless, it has begun finding favour with political parties for a number of reasons. “Actually, it is very easy to organise a teleconference as on the one hand it is totally hassle-free and costs less and at the same time one-to-one talk is possible which is not there in case of tranditional press conferences”, said an activist of a political
party
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