Takhtupura (Moga), January 14
Claiming that the Congress is fully geared up to fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, the working president of the party Mohinder Singh Kaypee announced that his party would declare the names of candidates for all the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in the first week of February. He was addressing a public gathering here, today.

In a well attended rally, he said that the state unit was busy giving final touches to the names of probable candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. "We will recommend three names from each constituency and send the same to the party high command latest by January 20", he said.

He said that his party has already chalked out the strategy of poll campaign under which three massive rallies would be held next month in Majha, Malwa and Doaba areas. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party President Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Rahul Gandhi would address these rallies, he said.

He said that Congress would take up the issues of the major achievements of the UPA government to the people during the poll campaign, including the nuclear deal; stand against terrorism and development works carried out during the past five years.

Lashing out at the SAD-BJP government in Punjab, he said that these parties were against the nuclear deal despite the fact that power situation was worsening day-by-day in the state. "We are facing four to eight hours of power cuts daily and power is the basic issue concerning the common masses", he said. He was of the view that a nuclear power plant was need of the hour for the state to overcome this crisis.

He further alleged that the public money meant for creating infrastructure in the state was being misused by the state government for their vested interests.

The local MLA's Joginder Pal Jain, Darshan Singh Brar, Ajit Singh Shant, Joginder Singh Panjgrain also alleged that the SAD-BJP government was misusing public money for their vested interests. "The funds are being diverted to certain areas where they have their dominance", they added.

Jain said that the government had registered fake and fabricated cases against the Congress leaders/workers including him to suppress their voice. "Time will come and we will teach them a lesson", he warned in a tough tone.

Dr Malti Thapar and Vijay Sathi were also present on the occasion. The leader of opposition in the Assembly Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former CM Amarinder Singh and CWC member Jagmeet Brar did not come to address the rally. 

Takhtupura (Moga), January 14
The All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) in association with Sikhs for Justice, a US-based human rights advocacy group and many other local organisations carried out a justice awareness march beginning from Daulewala village passing through Moga and Badhni Kalan culminating at Takhtupura, where they held a public rally.

These organisations demanded to arrest the culprits responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and provide financial assistance to the left outs of the victims.

Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of the federation, Daljit Singh Bittu, president of the Akali Dal (Panjpradhani) lashed out at the Congress-led UPA government for protecting their senior leaders who had already been named in many probes conducted by various commissions and the CBI for their alleged role in the riots. He said that this march would continue in the days to come and also pass through all those cities and states where the Sikhs were massacred during the riots. It began from Amritsar and would pass through Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan before culminating at Delhi, later this year.

He said that the federation was observing the year 2009 as the 'Year of Justice' in the country and across the globe. He announced to observe November 1, 2009 as “Sikh Genocide Day.”

Takhtupura (Moga), January 14
The president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) Simranjit Singh Mann, while reiterating the demand for a free homeland for Sikhs, has given a new twist to the 'Sehajdari' issue by saying that "a true Sikh is one who believes in Khalistan'" He was talking to the media at the district headquarters before addressing a public gathering of his party here, today.

Mann said his party believes in democratic principles and wants a peaceful resolution of Indo-Pak ties. He feared that in case of war between the two neighbouring countries, the Sikh community, a minority, would get eliminated as the impact of war in a nuclear world would undoubtedly destroy the whole of Punjab and its neighbouring states leaving behind a trail of destruction.

While clarifying that his party was against all forms of terrorism, Mann welcomed the statement of David Miliband, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, that 26/11 attacks were not directed by Pakistan. He said that terrorism was a worldwide problem being faced by almost all the nations and Pakistan itself was no exception to it. He said that there was a need to construct permanent nuclear shelters in the frontline state of Punjab because in case of a war, it would suffer most losses.

Later, the SAD (A) passed resolutions vowing that Punjab would not be allowed to become a battleground for India and Pakistan. He demanded that the Union government declare Punjab a no flying zone for the flying of war planes, stop betrayal of minority communities, punish the guilty involved in mass killing of Sikhs in 1984 riots, arrest BJP leader LK Advani for extending support to those involved in Malegaon blasts, transfer Chandigarh and Punjabi speaking areas of Haryana and Rajasthan to Punjab. 

Takhtupura (Moga), January 14
The Lok Bhalai Party (LBP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) also organized their political rallies here, today.

The leaders of both these parties lashed out at the Congress-led UPA government in the Centre and the SAD-BJP government in the state for adopting anti-people policies, which were affecting the day-to-day life of the common masses.

Balwant Singh Ramuwalia, president of the LBP, demanded to raise the old age pension to Rs 1000 per month, free medical care and free travel in government buses for them, besides, demanding stringent laws to prevent the atrocities on the young women being exploited by the NRIs on the name of marriage. He also demanded to reduce the prices of petrol by Rs. 20, diesel by Rs. 15 per litre and LPG by Rs. 50 per cylinder keeping in view of the sharp decline in prices of crude oil. He said that his would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. "We have options open for alliance but if it does not mature with likeminded parties we will contest the elections on our own".

Comrade Harbhajan Singh member of the central committee and district president Gurdial Singh of the CPI while addressing the rally took up the issue of rapid spread of drug addiction among the youth of the state, price rise of essential commodities, atrocities being committed on dalits and appealed to show the door to the UPA government and pave the way for the left parties-led UNPA . — TNS

Bathinda, January 14
In view of repeated requests by SAD-BJP councillors, SAD (B) chief Sukhbir Badal has ordered formation of a six-member coordination committee to manage the affairs of the constituency. The development is being seen as marginalisation of Sarup Chand Singla, SAD (B) constituency in-charge.

Some BMC councillors had complained to Harsimrat Kaur recently that Singla and the BMC Commissioner had emerged as parallel power centres. They feared it could affect the party's prospects in the Lok Sabha elections.

Subsequently, sources said Sukhbir Badal passed on a telephonic message to local party leaders directing them to constitute a six-member co-ordination committee.

BMC Mayor Baljeet Singh Bir Behman, councillor Bhupinder Singh Bhullar, Sarup Chand Singla, former minister Charanji Lal Garg have been named in the panel. Senior Deputy Mayor Tarsem Goyal and Narender Mittal of the BJP may also be included.

The Mayor, Goyal and Garg said the new committee would look after the affair of the constituency and the powers of the constituency in-charge had been merged in it.

But Singla said, "The coordination committee is not concerned with the powers assigned to me. It will just look after matters related to the visit of party leaders in the constituency."

Bathinda, January 14
With the councillors standing firm, the bureaucrats of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) finally had to backtrack and cancel the previously circulated proceeding report of the fourth general house meeting.A fresh report has now been prepared to pacify them this evening, it is learnt.

Further, four employees of the BMC, the executive officer (EO), a superintendent, steno and the PA to the Mayor, have been issued a show-cause notice, for alleged lapses on their part.

It may be mentioned that the Mayor Baljeet Singh Bir Behamn had even issued a statement that if the bureaucrats did not relent, he would sue them for tampering with the original proceedings of the general house meeting and circulating the report to all without even caring to obtain his prior approval.

On the other hand, the BMC Commissioner KK Yadav had said that he had not got the allegation related to the tampering in writing. So, only the lapses in the circulation of proceedings would be considered, that too on the verbal orders of the Mayor.

After the report of the BMC joint commissioner Amit Dhaka, who was assigned the duty of inquiring into the matter, the previous report has been declared null and void and a new report, with all corrections, has been approved by the Mayor.

In the new report, vide number 196, dated January 14, 2009, among the main issues, that have been corrected: the confirmation of the proceedings related to third general house meeting, which took place in October.

It has now been mentioned that it would be discussed at the next meeting, which in the previous report, had been shown as having been passed.

Further, the most talked about subject, multi-storey parking, which the previous report showed on the regular agenda of the next meeting, has now been mentioned as cancelled. When contacted, Mayor Baljeet Singh Bir Behman and senior deputy Mayor Tarsem Goyal said, "It is not just the tampering of the report.The actual issue was that the bureaucrats wanted to run the BMC for which we will always oppose them."

"Now we have both the reports of the proceedings which itself is an evidence of the way things are managed in the BMC," they added.

On his part, BMC Commissioner KK Yadav said, "After the investigation, it was observed that there was some communication gap. So, we have cancelled the previous report and issued a new one with the approval of the Mayor. Four employees of the BMC have been issued a show-cause notice also."

Mansa, January 14
In an attempt to streamline supply of electricity in the state, H.S. Brar, newly chairman of Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) assured that efforts would be made to ensure proper power supply in every corner of the state.

Talking about corruption in electricity department, he assured that strict action would be taken against the erring officials.

On being asked about the unbundling of the PSEB, Brar did not comment and said it was the government's concern.

Dues lying pending against some government and other institutions would be released to the board till March 31, he hoped.

New thermal plants which are being set up in Punjab would play a key role in the meeting the power needs of the state, he informed.

He further said that people of the Mansa area have been demanding 80 per cent job quota in the Banawali thermal power plant and he would speak to the officials of the company concerned about it.

He also said that CFL technology would be launched on a large scale in the state.

It is notable that Brar took over as chairman PSEB on January 13 and replaced Y.S. Ratra who had served on this post for the last six years.

Before this assignment, Brar had been serving as member, distribution, in the board. During his tenure as a member, distribution, he brought down transmission and distribution losses by 1.5 to 2 per cent

The Ministerial Services Union of the Board is hopeful that the new chairman would bring improvement in the functioning of the board by taking major steps because he is a technocrat as well as professional.

Bathinda, January 14
The situation took an ugly turn today when some agitating teachers of the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) started shouting slogans against the Punjab government in support of their demands when SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Captain Kanwaljit Singh, Cooperatives Minister were present in the city to lay the foundation stone of the new building of the Bathinda Central Cooperative Bank here this morning.

While the EGS teachers alleged that Sukhbir Singh Badal had earlier assured the delegation of the EGS teachers before the inauguration of the bank building that he would look into their demands but they alleged the he left the venue without listening to their demands.

Agitated over this, the EGS teachers broke the police cordon and took control of the dais after Sukhbir had left the place. They raised anti-government slogans and even broke some of the furniture lying on the dais.

The agitating activists alleged that even policemen had manhandled and roughed up some of the women EGS teachers.

It may be mentioned here that EGS teachers had been sitting on dharna for the last five days in front of mini-secretariat here for their long pending demands, including providing them admission to the special training in D.Ed course.

Pritpal Singh, regional president of the EGS teachers union said that today's talks had failed and they would intensify their agitation until their demands were not met.

"Soon, we would meet the Chief Minister and submit a memorandum to him. Then, we will decide the further course of action," Pritpal Singh said. 

Bathinda, January 14
A fresh independent analysis of Mahyco's Bt Brinjal bio-safety data by a French scientist has proved that Bt brinjal is unsafe for human consumption, stated Umendra Dutt, executive director of the Kheti Virasat Mission that has launched a movement against the genetically engineered (GE) crops in Punjab.

Dutt said that the study team led by Prof. Gilles-Eric Séralini of the Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN), France, concluded that Bt brinjal release into the environment, for food, feed or cultures, may present a serious risk for human and animal health and the release should be forbidden.

This analysis comes close to the next meeting of the GE Approval Committee (GEAC), India's apex regulatory body for GE crops and foods, scheduled for today. In this meeting, GEAC is reported to be looking at the results of the two-year large-scale trials of Bt brinjal in different locations across the country.

Large number of civil society groups including medical and health professionals have demanded to stop the commercial release of Bt brinjal and enforce a moratorium on all open air field trials of genatically modified (GM) crops.

Kheti Virasat Mission is one of the organisations in this movement called "Coalition for a GM-Free India". Moreover, five eminent medical professionals from Punjab have also demanded a complete moratorium on GM trials in a separate memorandum, as part of "under Doctors for Food & Bio-safety". They include, G.P.I. Singh, head, preventive and social medicine, Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana and convenor, Environmental Health Action Group, L.S.Chawla, former vice-chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences & National President, Doctors for Peace & Development, Daljeet Singh, eye surgeon, Amritsar, Bibi Inderjeet Kaur, chairperson, Pingalwara, Amritsar and Amar Singh Azad , Patiala.

Dutt said that the studies indicate that since Bt brinjal has antibiotic resistance marker genes. Therefore, it produces a protein which can induce resistance towards at least kanamycin, a well known antibiotic.

This is likely to have disastrous implications for developing countries like India that are struggling with communicable diseases burden. Further, the longest toxicity tests, which are for only 90 days, do not assess long-term effects like the development of tumours or cancers. No safety can be concluded about Bt brinjal based on this, reports this new analysis.

Umendra Dutt, whose Kheti Virasat Mission is spearheading a movement for a GM-Free Punjab and for ecological farming as the way forward, said, "Prof Seralini's analysis clearly shows that there are pointers to problems with Bt brinjal's safety within Mahyco's own data. It also shows that not only are our regulators not undertaking independent long term research to assess the claims of the crop developer but are not even taking up an analysis of the company's data. If they had done so in 2007 itself, Bt brinjal would not have been allowed for even large-scale trials. We have always been saying that as ecological alternatives exist for pest management, there is no need for Bt brinjal in this country - more so since we are the centre of origin for brinjal", he added. 

Bathinda, January 14
Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD president and MP, laid the foundation stone of the Bathinda Central Cooperative Bank building here today. Punjab Cooperatives Minister Captain Kanwaljit Singh, Jagdeep Singh Nakai, chief parliamentary secretary, Sikander Singh Maluka, district president, SAD, Sarup Singla, area in-charge, SAD, Charanji Lal Garg, former minister and Baljit Singh Bir Behman, Mayor, BMC, and other senior officers of various government departments were present on the occasion.

Gurpreet Singh Maluka, managing director of the bank, informed that the new building would cost about Rs 6 crore and would be completed within two years for providing better services to the public especially to the rural masses. At present, there were 41 branches of the bank in Bathinda and all branches would be computerised in phases, he added.

Briefing the media on the occasion, Captain Kanwaljit Singh said the branch would also deposit electricity and water supply bills, besides performing routine banking functions. He informed that milk productive cooperative societies would be formed in villages for which loans would be given.

Faridkot, January 14
A convict facing ten years of imprisonment in the district jail has reportedly fled from the police custody while undergoing treatment at the civil hospital here, probably on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

PK Garg, Deputy Superintendent of the local Jail told The Tribune that the convict identified as Charanjit Singh son of Kartar Singh a resident of Dharamkot, Moga district, was lodged in the jail after his conviction by the local district and sessions' court under the NDPS Act.

He said that the prisoner was not feeling well, therefore, the jail staff got him admitted in the civil hospital for better treatment and the information was sent to the local police through proper channel. The police authorities had deployed its staff for the protection of the prisoner, he said.

Sources in the local police revealed that three policemen head constable Gurdeep Singh, constable Paramjit Singh and the line officer Jagdish Singh were assigned the duty to keep an eye on the prisoner in the hospital.

However, the prisoner fled away from the hospital probably last night. The exact timing of his escape could not be ascertained as yet because the statements of policemen on duty were yet to be recorded by the investigating officer.

Sub-inspector Darshan Singh during a checking of the hospital had found the prisoner and the policemen absconding from there. He lodged the FIR in the police station.

While admitting that the prisoner had fled away from police custody, Sewa Singh Deputy Superintendent of the police revealed that the police had registered an FIR under sections 222, 223, 225 (A) of the IPC in the city kotwali police station against the said three police personnel.

However, he said that all the policemen had fled away from the spot and were still eluding arrest, when the news report was last filed. "We have launched a hunt to arrest them and they will soon be arrested", the DSP claimed. 

Ferozepur, January 14
The Vigilance Bureau (VB) sleuths today apprehended Gurpratap, superintendent of mechanical drainage construction division, Canal Circle, Ferozepur, when he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2000 from the complainant, Kulwinder Singh, employed as electrician with division, for getting his case for promotion forwarded from executive engineer Ferozepur to executive engineer Giderbaha.

Sukhdev Singh, SSP VB, Ferozepur said the erring government employee had demanded an amount of Rs 5000 from the complainant, however, it was later settled for Rs 2000 which the superintendent had taken today when the vigilance team arrested him on the spot.

The SSP said that the accused was arrested in the presence of Dr Rajesh Mittal and Ramanpreet Singh, both government witnesses and Amrik Singh, Shadow witness.

Bathinda, January 14
The vagaries of weather have been quite perceptible for the last two days. On Wednesday, the zone recorded one of the lowest temperatures of the season as 1.5 degree Celsius at 7 am while at 2.30 pm, the mercury climbed upto 21.6 degree, as per the Agro-MeT advisory services, PAU Regional Station, Bathinda.

According to the forecast, there is likelihood of a partial overcast to overcast condition in some parts of the region from January 15-17. There is also a possibility of light to moderate rainfall. Weathermen attributed activated western disturbances as the cause. The mercury may rise due to overcast conditions and wind speed, may, rise.