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Rules, code violated in MC posting: BJP Ludhiana, May 6 The BJP has alleged that the order flout the model code of conduct and the directions of the Election Commission of India, besides being violative of the service rules. The orders, issued on April 15 when the Lok Sabha elections were less than a month away, say that Mr Manmohan Singh, would hold the additional charge in the MC against a vacant post till further orders. The district secretary of the BJP, Mr Uma Dutt Sharma, in a complaint sent to the chief election officer of the state, has said the posting orders are surprising and smacks of vested interests. He maintained that there was no vacant post of SE in the Municipal Corporation and the code had been violated. The party, seeking cancellation of the orders, has further alleged that the appointment has been made by the government to benefit the Congress candidate. Inquiries made by Ludhiana Tribune in this regard revealed that Mr Manmohan Singh was promoted as SE in July, 2002, on current duty charge in the pay scale of executive engineer because he did not have the required experience of eight years. Section 21 (Powers to relax) of the Punjab Trust Services (Recruitment and Conditions of Services) Rules, 1978, explicitly says that “where the state government is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient to do so, it may, by order, relax any of the provisions of these rules except the educational qualification and experience with respect to any class or category of persons. Sources in the civic body disclosed that a number of executive engineers currently posted in the MC possessed the requisite minimum experience and could be promoted as SEs. “But the government has chosen to give additional charge to a less experienced person for reasons best known to it,”they added. Moreover, the posts in the engineering wing of the MC and Improvement Trust were under different cadres and not liable to be interchanged under normal circumstances, the sources pointed out. Interestingly, the track record of the said official in the trust has also been under a cloud for alleged financial irregularities in making payments to contractors in projects like construction of MIG flats in two residential colonies of the trust. The trust chairman Mr Ashok Singh Garcha, had gone on record to admit that officials of the engineering wing and other departments were in connivance while making extra payments to some of the contractors. |
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Vajpayee coming to city on
May 8 Ludhiana, May 6 The Prime Minister will arrive here from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and the rally which he will address around 3 p.m. will be his last rally before for the last phase of the election, scheduled for Monday, comes to an end. The SAD secretary, Dr D.S Cheema, said Mr Vajpayee had assured SAD president, Parkash Singh Badal that the former would include Ludhiana in his election itinerary for Saturday. Though the exact venue of the rally has not been decided yet, a decision in this regard will be taken shortly in consultation with the district administration, Mr Dhillon said. The biggest advantage from the Prime Minister’s proposed rally is bound to go to Mr Dhillon, who will share the dais with the Prime Minister and the party president. Some other important BJP leaders are also expected to be present at the rally. In the past on at least four occasions senior BJP leaders have left the Akalis in the lurch after certain BJP
leaders cancelled their visits, especially to Ludhiana, after making public announcements. The first was Ms Uma Bharti, followed by Mr Arun Shourie. Yesterday, Mr Shatrughan Sinha was scheduled to address a rally in the city, but at the last moment he
sent a message that he was going to Gurdaspur to address a rally in favour of
Mr Vinod Khanna. Even though Mr Vajpayee will be unable to make any announcements, it is understood that he will make some references to the demands being made in the city regarding more funds for development work. As the news of Mr Vajpayee’s visit spread in political circles, the Congress Meanwhile, security personnel have started arriving in the city. In some places the paramilitary forces were seen taking position in various parts
of the city. |
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Tiwari
flays NDA over disinvestment Ludhiana, May 6 Addressing an election rally organised by Ms Sukhwinder Kaur, councillor, at White Quarters in Basti Abdullapur, he remarked that the Union Government had failed to effectively deal with the problem of unemployment. On the contrary, the government had been pursuing such fiscal policies at the behest of the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO, which had aggravated the problem. The farmers were having a tough time and the prices of essential commodities had touched a level that was beyond the reach of the common man. Punjab Minister for Higher Education Harnam Das Johar, Mayor Nahar Singh Gill, party legislators Surinder Dawar and Malkiat Singh Dakha and PPCC secretary Ramesh Joshi also addressed the meeting. The Poorvanchal Vikas Party (PVP), claiming to be the representative of a sizeable population of migrants in the city, announced its support to the Congress on all the seats in the state. In a letter addressed to the President of the All-India Congress Committee, PVP general secretary J.R. Misra said the decision was taken by the party working committee with the consent of the chairman T.R. Misra. The election office of Mr Tiwari claimed that besides the PVP, several other social, religious and political bodies, most of them representing the migrant population, had extended their support to the Congress nominee. These included the Bhartiya Janjagran Sangathan, the Avadh Welfare Society, the Avadh Navyuvak Sangh, the Uttaranchal Kumaon Vikas Parishad, the Geeta Nagar Dyeing Association, the Paryavaran and Manav Kalyan Society, the Dharmik Ekta Manch and the Punjab Sanskriti Manch. Independent candidate Abdul Shakoor Thind decided to withdraw in favour of the Congress candidate and senior vice-president of the All-India Shiromani Youth Akali Dal Avtar Singh Mallah quit his party to join the Congress. Meanwhile,
SAD-BJP candidate Sharanjit Singh Dhillon asserted that the Congress
was about to be wiped out in the face of a strong ‘Atal’ wave in
favour of the ruling NDA alliance. He said the policies of Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were being appreciated, not only in the
country, but also by foreign powers. Speaking at election rallies organised by the alliance partners at Samrala Chowk, Neemwala Chowk, Vijay Nagar, Amarpura Chowk and other city localities, Mr Dhillon asked the voters to give the NDA another chance to continue the good work done during its tenure. A number of SAD and BJP leaders, including district president Dr Subhash Verma, former Deputy Speaker Sat Pal Gosain, Mr Ashok Loomba, Dr Balbir Chand Kapila, Mr Ravinderpal Singh Khalsa, Mr Rajinder Khatri, Mr Tirath Singh, Mr Pushpinder Singal, Mr Sanjay Kapoor, Mr Parveen Bansal, councillor, and Dr D.P. Khosla, addressed the meetings. In the meeting held at Samrala Chowk, the SAD and BJP leaders welcomed former Congress activist Arun Katyal to the BJP fold. Mr Katyal, who had unsuccessfully contested the civic election from Ward 60 on Congress ticket, said he had been impressed with the policies of Mr Vajpayee. The United Masihi Dal claimed that its president Bachan Masih had taken up an extensive mass contact programme to canvass for Mr Dhillon. He said activists of the Dal were moving from door-to-door in several city localities and villages like Haibowal, Kadian, Bhaura, Rasoolpur, Nurpur Bet, Kasabad, Fatehgarh Gujjran, Meonwal, Rampur Katani, Doraha and Machhiwara to mobilise voters. Mr Dhillon addressed a religious congregation in the Sarabha Nagar church while his wife spoke at a gathering in the Salem Tabri church. Meanwhile, during a tour of rural areas of the constituency, Lok Bhalai Party (LBP) candidate Balwant Singh Ramoowalia was weighed against coins at Bhanohar village. Mr Pritam Singh, grandfather of Mr Sukhwinder Singh, a Sikh youth who was rescued from Malaysia with the efforts of the LBP leader, presented a sword and a robe of honour to Mr Ramoowalia. Mr Ramoowalia criticised SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal for seeking votes in the name of Mr Vajpayee. He said if the then Chief Minister (Mr Badal) had worked for the betterment of the common people during his tenure, he would not have to be dependent on the BJP or the NDA to seek votes. In
other developments, Bahujan Samaj Party nominee Rabinder Singh Sohil
claimed to have received the support of Ramgarhia Board. According to
a BSP press note, functionaries of the board Kulwinder Singh Virdi,
Jagjit Singh Jandu, Mohinder Singh Khural, Dharampal Singh, Kirpal
Singh Sahara, Ajit Bhanwer and Gurjit Singh had issued a joint appeal
to the voters to support Mr Sohil. |
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Tiwari,
Dhillon promise the moon Ludhiana, May 6 The rally organised by the Congress Sewa Dal was led by state coordinator, Mr Kulwant Singh Swami. Mr Tiwari, who attended more than a dozen election meetings and rallies in the city and its outskirts, was weighed against coins in Sarabha Nagar at a function organised by area councillor, Ms Amrit Varsha Rampal. Minister for Higher Education Mr Harnam Das Johar, Mr Malkiat Singh Dakha, MLA, Mr K.K. Bawa, former president of DCC, Mr Sushil Malhotra, general Secretary, Punjab Youth Congress and Mr B.K. Rampal, among others, were present at the occasion. Addressing a well attended meeting organised by Kitchlu Nagar Residents Association, Mr Tiwari promised to take up the matter of infrastructure development in the mega city on top priority. He also assured that people from all walks of life would have easy access to him and he would suitably raise the issues related to trade and industry in the parliament. Mr Harnam Das Johar, Minister for Higher Education, Mr Rakesh Pandey, Minister for Printing and Stationery, Mr Surinder Dawar, MLA, Mr Surjit Singh Ahluwalia, councillor, in addition to mr J.L. Takkar, president, and Mr Virinder Bhakoo, general secretary of the association were also present. The Indian Muslim Council also claimed support to Congress nominee. Meanwhile, addressing an election rally at Sahnewal the SAD-BJP candidate, Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon made a commitment to work hard for overall development and beautification of the city and further to make the city a safe, secure and better place to live in. He said that the former Chief Minister and SAD supremo, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had made Punjab the only state in India, and perhapse in world, where farmers were exempted from paying electricity charges and water rates. On this account alone the farming community benefitted to the tune of Rs 500 crore and agriculture production increased manifold. He
further dwelt upon welfare schemes launched by erstwhile SAD-BJP
government for weaker sections and dalits. “The then government had
strived to ensure that farmers get remunerative price for their
produce. Bank loans were provided to farmers on lower interest rate of
9 per cent which was in the range of 15 and 18 per cent earlier.” Among
other speakers at the rally were Mr Santa Singh Umedpuri, Mr Jagjiwan
Pal Singh Gill. Mr Pritam Singh, Mr Hartej Singh, Mr Parmod Kumar and
Mr Babbi Kumar, members of the Lok Bhalai Party announced that they
had quit their party to join the SAD-B. In another related development, several prominent members of Jain community pledged their support to Mr Dhillon at a meeting convened in Ludhiana North assembly segment by Mr Anup Kumar Jain, Chartered Accountant. Mr Dhillon, who was present, said that the NDA Government had been alive to the problems of trade and industry and would continue its effort to create a conducive atmosphere for trade and industry. The
BSP, in the meantime, claimed that election campaign of its candidate
Mr Ravinder Singh Sohil had received a big boost with the former MLA
and trade union activist Mr Tarsem Jodhan extending support to the
party at an election rally. |
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Manmohan Singh seeks votes for Tiwari Ludhiana, May 6 He said the Congress had a vision to lead the country. The BJP-led NDA government might have made some strides in the sphere of economic development, but at the same time it had threatened the social fabric of the country, he added. He said economic progress was not possible unless and until there was not social cohesion. Quoting Dr B.R. Ambedkar, he said it was dangerous to seek votes in the name of religion and caste. He alleged the BJP was still trying to divide the people in the name of religion. Listing the achievements of the Congress during the past 55 years, he said it was the vision of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru which saw the country witness the Green Revolution, industrial revolution, scientific revolution and educational revolution. But, he said, there was a long way to go as despite phenomenal economic progress made by the country, 26 per cent of the population was still living below the poverty line. He said the mortality rate among the newborns was still 17 per thousand. Appealing the people to vote for the Congress, he said only the Congress had an 50-year experience of governing the country. He said the Congress would continue with economic reforms, but at the same time it would not ignore the rural and agricultural sector. He claimed that during the past six years there was no investment in the rural and agricultural sector. He said the farmers were feeling desperate as the NDA government had even mooted an idea to dispense with the procurement process. He said the farmers were feeling so distressed that they were committing suicides. Referring to Punjab, he observed, although the Congress government was perfectly in the saddle, it was necessary to have a friendly government at the Centre as well. If the Congress formed government at the Centre, he said, the people of Punjab could get double benefit. Referring to the problem of rising steel prices, he alleged the Central Government had failed to check the prices which had pushed the engineering industry into crisis. Prominent among those present on the occasion included the Mayor, Mr Nahar Singh Gill, the Ludhiana East, MLA, Mr Surinder Dawer, the District Congress Committee president, Mr Jagmohan Sharma, the president of the District Bar Association, Mr Balwinder Kumar Goyal, the outgoing MP, Mr Gurcharan Singh Galib, and others. Meanwhile, Mr Manish Tiwari, Congress candidate from Ludhiana, toured villages of Payal, Doraha and Begowal today He addressed rallies at various villages and towns. He assured the electorate that he would try his level best to come up to the expectations for the people, if given a chance. He said, “My opponents are wrongly propagating that I am an outsiders. I am very from among you. Punjab is my state and its people are my brethren. How can I ever belie the hopes of my own people who shall be vesting their full faith in me and giving me their precious vote?” Mr Tiwari also assured all basic facility to villagers. “I will try to improve the standard of your living and make livelihood a much easier task for the rural folk,” he said. He was accompanied by Mr Tej Parkash Singh Kotlia, Mr Gurmit Singh Bhari and other Congress supporters and workers. Mr Tiwari and Ms Jarnail Kaur, wife of Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia of the Lok Bhalai Party, also organised a road show and appealed to the voters to cast their votes in their favour. Mr Munish Tiwari was accompanied by former MP Gurcharan Singh Galib, former minister Darshan Singh Brar, former MLA Gurdip Singh Bhaini, chairman of the Jagraon Block Samiti Shamsher Singh Dangian, president of the Municipal Council Devinder Kathuria, director of the Punjab Khadi Board Purshotam Khalifa, and a large number of Congress workers, whereas Ms Jarnail Kaur was accompanied by film actress Kimmi Verma, senior vice-president of the LBP Bhola Singh and many others. |
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Ex-Mayor Grewal canvasses for SAD-BJP candidate Ludhiana, May 6 Referring to his tenure, he said he was responsible for bringing many prestigious projects to the city. The Leisure Valley, which was once a dumping ground and had been encroached upon by migrants, had been cleared and gardens laid for the benefit of the people, he said. The first skating rink in the state was built in Ludhiana during his tenure, he added. He pointed out that the condition of roads was good and the quality of water was excellent. Officials of the corporation had been instructed to be courteous to the people and attend to all complaints in a time-bound manner, he added. Erring officials had been pulled up, which ensured that accountability was the benchmark in those days, unlike the present mess in the civic body today. Mr Grewal impressed upon those he met that development had come to a standstill after the Congress came to power. Various welfare schemes launched by the Badal regime had been withdrawn, along with other subsidies announced for the farmers and weaker sections of society, he claimed. He alleged that the Congress was trying to hoodwink the people on vital issues by diverting their attention to the so-called anti -graft drive. The morning walkers responded warmly to his greetings and many stopped to listen to what he had to say while others moved on after exchanging pleasantries. Youngsters stopped by and exchanged notes with Mr Grewal on the current electoral scene and the chances of the BJP coming to power once again. The former mayor was there for over two hours. He later joined Mr Dhillon in his campaign in other parts of the city. |
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SAD will win, claims Gill Doraha, May 6 He was addressing a gathering of Akali workers at the railway road here today. He said, “While Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, the party candidate, has been touring these villages to win public support, the party workers also left no stone unturned to highlight the clean governance of our five-year rule and at the same time the corrupt rule of the existing political party.” Mr Jagjiwan Pal Singh Gill said, “People are with us as they have lost faith in the Congress.” “There is a clear indication that we will register a massive win as people can no longer be duped by false promises of the Congress,” he added. Mr Gill said Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee would visit Ludhiana on May 8. “The Akali workers are all geared up to welcome him,” he added. Mr Gurmail Singh
Sangowal, member of the SGPC, Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal, Mr Jasvir Singh Nizampur, Jathedar Bharpoor Singh
Rauni, Mr Gurmit Singh Lapran, Mr Tejinder Singh Rampur, Mr Harnek Singh Mangewal also spoke on the occasion. |
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Seeking votes in Tohra’s name Amloh, May 6 Electing Mr Sukhdev Singh Libra, SAD candidate from Ropar, would be the real tribute to Gurcharan Singh Tohra, claimed with a thumping majority Mr
H.S. Tohra. The minister was on an election campaign for Mr Libra and covered 35 villages today. He was weighed against ‘laddoos’ at Bhadal Thua village and earlier weighed against coins at Naraingarh village, where sarpanch Balbir Singh and Jathedar Hardyal Singh presented Rs 7,000 for the election fund and assured him of maximum votes from the village. Former minister Dalip Singh Pandhi said the NDA government at the Centre had brought India and Pakistan closer. SGPC member Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Randhir Singh
Bhambri, Youth Akali Dal president Gurpreet Singh Bhatti, advocate Tajinder Singh
Salana, circle Jathedars Hari Singh, Kala Singh and Paramjeet Singh, former senior vice-president Punjab Karamchari Dal Karamjeet Singh Bagdhana and Youth district vice-president Pankaj Sharma, also spoke.
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Women not to vote for candidates ‘supplying’ drugs Ludhiana, May 6 As many as 74 per cent of women admitted that women took drugs but the use was very little as compared to men. As many as 91 per cent of women claimed that political parties distributed drugs during elections. As many as 87 per cent of women said they would not vote in favour of candidates who distribute drugs. Nearly 72 per cent of women claimed that they would not vote for such a candidate from whom men in their families took drugs. Nearly 66 per cent of women said men pressurised them, or at least asked them, to cast vote in favour of a particular candidate, whereas 28 per cent claimed that they were free from pressure. As many as 94 per cent of women said the use of drugs often lead to domestic violence and infighting in the families. According to 91 per cent of women, the youth often got addicted to drugs once they started taking drugs distributed in such a manner. As many as 89 per cent of women demanded that such practices be stopped while 86 per cent women agreed to contribute to stop such trends. The chief secretary of the organisation, Dr Charan Kanwal Singh, said political parties must listen to the voice of 50 per cent of the electorate which was the women. |
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Want to vote, bring
I-card, says DC Ludhiana, May 6 He added that minor discrepancies in the entries relating to name, father’s/ mother’s/husband’s name, sex, age or address in the voter identity card would be ignored and the voter would be allowed to cast his vote as long as the identity of the voter could be established by means of the card. Any discrepancy in the serial number of the voter identity card as mentioned in the electoral roll would also be ignored. Mr Verma said voters who had not obtained their voter identity cards, would have to produce some documentary evidence for establishing their identity. The commission had prescribed the following documents for establishing identity — passports, driving licences, PAN cards, service identity cards, bank/ kisan/postal office passbooks, student identity cards, property documents, SC/ ST/OBC certificates, pension documents, railway identity cards, freedom fighter identity cards, etc.
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The Karwan to democracy Ludhiana, May 6 According to Youth for Peace leading the Karwan, the biggest forces that will kill the democratic freedom in India are communal forces. The BJP is fanning communalism through the RSS and the VHP and should be voted out of power. Students from Gujarat spoke passionately about their experiences. Yaseen said during the riots in Gujarat many religious fanatics came and destroyed the mosques in their village. They looted the shops and burnt them. The VHP mob came ansd started shooting people. He further said, “My father, grandfather and my brother-in- law were killed. It has been two years but we have not gone back as neither the police nor the administration has given us any protection. Is this democracy.” Another student said some political parties like the BJP put religion before everything. “Our identity is measured by the religion we belong to. During one of the press conferences in Gujarat members of the VHP threatened us when we were talking about communal forces. Sahil Raza from Delhi said, “I have studied in a very progressive school in Delhi and has appeared for my Class XII board examination. Yet many a time I am discriminated against by my classmates and teachers. It is because the ideology of communalism has creeped into our hearts. When I was in Gujarat my parents had told me not to mention my real name as some VHP or RSS members may not like it. Fear of identity crisis is an imminent threat.” Sibby narrated how the VHP workers had surrounded a Muslim girl,
Shabnam, in Vadodara and told her that they would rape her like they had raped many Muslims during Godhra riots. The timely arrival of the police saved us. “This is an example of fascism. We want people to vote out the BJP government that is fanning communalism.” Mannan also said that Godhra riots amounted to genocide. He said, “I have lived all my life in Ahmedabad. There have been communal riots earlier also. The difference between Godhra and other riots is that in Godhra neither the police nor the state machinery helped the victims. The police only came when the job of communal forces was over. Youth has to come forward to wipe away communalism that is eating into democracy.” Kandla, great grand daughter of famous Punjabi poet Gurbaksh Singh
Preetlari, said, “Last night while speaking to Punjab Agricultural University students I asked them not to vote for the BJP”. They said the Sikh riots took place during the Congress regime. She said her uncle got killed in the riots. But she asked the students that one has to rise above personal experiences and tackle the urgency of the situation, which was to fight the fascist forces. Ms Shabnam Hashmi, sister of late stage artist Safdar Hashmi, is the coordinator of the group. She said they started on April 7 from Delhi and after visiting 38 cities they would leave for Kurukshetra. After staying for a day there they would and their journey in Delhi. She said they started the organisation with the prime aim of making the people aware of the party with communal leanings before elections so that it could be voted out. They wanted to talk against communal forces and make a network of youth they had talked to during their trip. Ms Hashmi said, “When these students go back to their home states they would try to warn people about these communal forces to save our country. But I am really surprised by the media response to their trip. |
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Follow-up Ludhiana, May 6 Nisha Rani, a student of class VI, is lying unconscious in the neurosurgery ward of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital. She had received injuries on the head, ears and under the eyes. Her mother, who was sitting beside her, said that her ear had been operated upon and CT scan had shown that she had received some internal injuries in the head. She cried bitterly as she said that she her daughter had not uttered a single word after the accident. Dr Sandeep Puri, Medical Superintendent, said that her condition was critical and she would be watched for another 48 hours before taking any step further. He said that other four children admitted in the hospital were in stable condition. Parampreet, a class I student, has also undergone plastic surgery of the ear. Sahilpreet of class LKG has stitches at the back of head. The two sisters, Maninderjit of class VI and Manpreet of class III, had also received head injuries and the attending doctors said that they might be discharged after two to three days. Their mother said that she was fortunate enough not to send her third child, Jaspreet Singh, to school that day even though he had insisted that he wanted to go to Water City. Baljit, class I student, is also lying critically injured in Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Shastri Nagar. He has received fractures in the back bone and collar bone and is currently under traction. Dr R.S. Sodhi, officiating Medical Superintendent, said that he was critical even though he had shown some signs of improvement. Gaganmeet of class VI, admitted in the same hospital, has fracture in the leg. Diljinder of LKG, Parminder of class II, Jitender of class VI and Avtar of Class VI are all suffering from minor fractures. The driver of the ill-fated van, Gurminder Singh, has been kept in isolation at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Dr Sodhi said that this had been done keeping in view the sentiments of the parents of victims. He said that he had too had received head injuries but was now improving. An FIR against the driver has been lodged with the Government Railway Police. The bodies of Gitanjali Sharma,
Rupali, Twinkle and Simranjit, were consigned to flames this morning. Ms Hardayal Kaur Chhina, Principal, attended the funeral of the children. She said that school would remain closed for five days and will re-open on May 11.
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Club general
secretary reinstated Ludhiana, May 6 They had been suspended following the allegations that liquor and food had been served free of cost to guests at a function in the club. The Deputy Commissioner ordered that the bar secretary, the mess secretary and the general secretary share the expenses and deposit the same within three days. |
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Manmohan assures steel consumers Ludhiana, May 6 Addressing a meeting organised by the United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association here today, he said the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre had failed to redress the grievances of the industry. He said the economic reforms had gone haywire.
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