The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Glowing tributes paid to Left legend Kusum Arora Tribune News Service (Bundala), Jalandhar, August 10 Rich tributes were paid to the icon of the CPI (M) Harkishan Singh Surjeet during the Bhog ceremony at his native village Bundala near Jalandhar, which was attended by the top brass of the CPI (M). It was almost like a big fair where people gathered from far off places shouting slogans “comrade Surjeet amar rahe”. Surjeet was given a ‘red salute’ by every one. The village witnessed a complete blockade as people came traveling in private buses, tractors, trucks from every part of the state. People came from nearby villages like Lassara, Phillaur, Jandiala, Pasla, Apra, Dewali and many comrades from the local Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall as well. Such was the scene that nearly half of the people had a tough time getting a proper seat for themselves at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Stadium of the village, the venue for the bhog ceremony. But despite the scorching heat and humid weather, people kept coming till the end of the ceremony, especially the elderly and women turned out in large numbers. Describing this as an irreparable loss for the party and to the nation as a whole, CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat said, “Harkishan Singh Surjeet was a man of masses. Nearly every top politician looked forward to his advice in the time of crisis and he had an aura of simplicity in his life”. Despite being in the opposition he always thought of public welfare, Karat added. “For the last 3 to 4 years we have been continuously asking him to write his autobiography. As he had a long stint of 75 years in Indian politics, we wanted to him to pen down his own life history but his ill health came in the way,” Karat said. Politburo member, Sitaram Yechury, while talking about the policies adopted by comrade Surjeet, said, “He always emphasised on the need to have cordial relations with left parties in other nations as well. Always on the threshold of new ideas, he set up “foreign policy” during his initial days with Jawahar Lal Nehru. He was known with the name of ‘chanakya and sutradhar’ for his easy approach in dealing with various national interest issues.” Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal too termed the demise of the politburo member as a great loss to the nation and said this is a “Kaumi Nuksan” (community’s loss). “Indian politics would always miss the man of great thoughts who had the wisdom and courage to come forth with a solution whenever there would be any predicament”, he said. Brinda Karat, the first woman politburo member was also present. Others who spoke during the ceremony were PPCC, Punjab president Mohinder Singh Kaypee, union minister Pawan Bansal, BJP, Punjab president, Rajinder Bhandari, Lok Sabha deputy speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, Chief, Lok Bhalai Party, B.S. Ramoowalia, Jagmeeet Singh Brar, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Joginder Dyal from CPI, Satnam Kainth from BSM, local MLA Gurdeep singh Bhullar, local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia and many others.
	‘Firing’ At Function Cong points finger at BJP MLA’s man, releases CD Sanjay Bumbroo/TNS Amritsar, August 10 Harpal Singh Bhatia, joint secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) amid counter claims by the BJP, on Saturday, released the video CD of a supporter of BJP MLA Anil Joshi firing gun shots in the air during the inauguration of road work in the city recently. The recording shows a Sikh youth in green turban, who Harpal claims is one Jarnail Singh Gora, a supporter of MLA Joshi, firing five shots in the air. Bhatia said it was by chance that one of the residents of their locality in Ward No. 20 had done the recording in view of the inauguration of road work in the area. He said as soon as the supporters raised slogans in favour of his father Ajit Singh Bhatia, a councillor, the personal assistant of MLA Joshi directed Gora to open fire to terrorise the gathering which had gathered on the occasion due to his father’s influence. When this reporter tried to contact Joshi for his views on the issue, his personal assistant said he was busy in a meeting and could not be contacted. It is pertinent to mention here that earlier Joshi had refuted the allegations of firing by his supporters as baseless. He said Bhatia, in order to gain cheap popularity, was trying to rake up unnecessary controversies to malign his name. The PPCC joint secretary said the BJP should also clarify its stand on the incident as it claimed to be an honest party and its cadre to be educated and civilised. He asked whether the party was adopting such tactics to gain control in those areas where its men had failed to achieve success during the municipal council elections. He said he would also present the CD to AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and apprise her with the situation prevailing in his ward.
	Labourer, trader commit suicide Tribune News Service Kapurthala, August 10 Two persons committed suicide at different places in the district. A migrant labourer, Rakesh Kumar (18) committed suicide by hanging himself from a roof girder of a shed in the factory in which he was working at Kapurthala. The workers saw Kumar’s body on Saturday morning. The police reached the spot and sent the body for the post-mortem examination. The exact reason why Kumar killed himself could not be known. In another case, a shopkeeper Devinder Kumar (28) committed suicide on Friday night by consuming some poisonous substance in his house at Bishanpur Raina village. According to his wife Kamaljit, Devinder took the extreme step as he was frustrated due to his prolonged illness. District police initiated routine proceedings under section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code in these cases.
	Illegal liquor vends flourish Balraj Mahajan Batala, August 10 As per the excise policy, the Punjab government has auctioned fourteen liquors vends at different points in the city for country made and Indian made foreign liquor. The official vends are situated at Railway Road, Amritsar Road, Gandhi Chowk, Jalandhar Road Sagar Hotel, Fawara Chowk, Cinema Road, Nehru Gate, Pahari Gate, Qadian Chungi, Simble Chowk, Gurdaspur road (Gandhi Camp), Aliwal Chowk and Gurdaspur Road. However, the liquor contractors, in connivance with officials of the excise department, have started more than 30 liquor sales points in violation of the excise policy of the state government. The contractors pay under-hand money to the excise officers and certain political leaders who manage to provide police and official protection. In this way the government is duped of license fee worth lakhs per month and the booty is shared by the officials and the political stalwarts. The political dons of the city further make the liquor contractors sell the liquor at pooled rates, thus forcing the customers to pay more for the liquor. Illegal vends are situated at Kahnuwan Road, Jharianwala, Prem Nagar Bohranwala, Dana mandi, Deluxe pully, Lakhar mandi, Achli Gate, Umarpura, Haathi Gate, Bhandari Gate, Bode di khui, Harnam Nagar, Telian wala, Amritsar bye pass and other places. When contacted, S.S. Brar, financial commissioner, excise and taxation, Punjab, today said he will take strict action against all such illegal vends and the guilty will be punished. Besides, all such illegal liquor vends will be closed. When the matter was brought to the notice of Sukhchain Singh, ETO (Excise) Batala, he showed his helplessness due to the political patronage to the excise contractors.
	‘Harassment’ by cops: PSU to hold dharna Nawanshahr, August 10 Punjab Students’ Union (PSU) would hold a dharna in front of the DC office on Monday to protest against the alleged police harassment to some members. The union chief Gurmukh Singh, in a press release issued here , said a peaceful protest was held to oppose the proposed move of the government to privatise ITIs on March 17. The local police at that time booked four PSU activists for violating section 144. The police has been conducting raids at the houses of the union activists and causing harassment to their parents, alleged Gurmukh. — OC
	Power stealers penalised Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, August 10 As many 73 cases of power theft were detected during an early morning raid conducted by a team of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) at the residential colony in the police line area and Rishi Nagar. According to executive engineer Harish Sharma, out of 273 power connections checked at police lines, 73 were found illegal. Direct supply was being taken by bypassing the electricity meters. The consumers had put direct overhead kundi connections on the supply lines. After thorough checking, penalties worth Rs 8 lakh have been imposed, said Sharma. Besides, the department also raided residential houses at Rishi Nagar and found four cases of power theft. Warning strict action against power stealers, Sharma more checks would be carried on in the coming days.