Amritsar, March 21
The first five-star luxury hotel of the city, Ista, was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal here today.

The Deputy CM claimed that commissioning of the luxury hotel would fulfil the long-pending demand of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world and would be a harbinger of modern face of the holy city.

When asked to comment upon the poll manifesto, Badal said since general secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa headed committee was preparing the manifesto, it would not be right to comment over it.

When his attention was drawn towards the Congress’ demand for deploying Central forces during the Lok Sabha elections in the state, he described it as reactions emanating out of frustration. He said the opponent party was not able to announce its candidate which had set in infighting and frustration among its ranks.

The five-star luxury hotel here is the third in chain after Ista, Bangalore, and Ista, Hyderabad, by IHHR Hospitality Private Limited, which was founded in 1998.

Gautam Khanna, chairman, IHHR, said the hotel would be a blend of Indian tradition and world-class luxury.

Ashok Khanna, managing director of the company, observed, “Being one of India’s most popular religious tourist destinations, Amritsar has vast untapped potential in the area of hospitality. This venture will definitely give a boost to tourism as well as business prospects in the city and attract a lot of foreign and Indian travellers.”

The luxury hotel will provide a complete window to the city with tours of the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh and the Wagah border among other excursions.

Equipped with 248 rooms, Ista has 10 suites on the 11th floor, offering a breathtaking view of the city. Each room offers Wi-fi, broadband internet access, a personal bar, an electronic safe, tea and coffee maker, a bedside panel for all electronic and temperature control.

The luxury hotel also provides an ideal atmosphere for business-conferencing and event destination with a total banquet area of 13,400 sq ft, hosting up to 800 people. 

Jalandhar, March 21
Advocate-General of Punjab HS Mattewal today countered allegations of protecting the individual interests of the Chief Minister and his family in the Supreme Court, which were levelled against him by Bholath MLA Sukhpal Khaira yesterday.

Mattewal was here to preside over the convocation ceremony of Lyallpur Khalsa College. Condemning all allegations against him in helping the Badals in their personal cases, he said he had nothing to do in the matter, adding, “The CM has already engaged Harish Salve and some other advocates, while Amarinder has his own battery of lawyers. I am not involved anywhere in the fight between the two.”

“After all, I am not Badal’s employee. I hold a constitutional post and my job is to defend the state’s cases,” he said. However, he added that as a private counsel earlier he had helped several Congressmen as well in their individual court cases.

The AG laughed as he said, “I am sure that Sukhpal’s father Sukhjinder Singh must be disappointed with his son’s act this time. In fact, I have been Sukhjinder’s counsel in a case registered against him under the National Security Act. I had helped him and the case was decided in his favour.”

He further said, “I also wonder why Khaira is writing it out against me to the Election Commission of India. I have not gone anywhere to influence the voters. I have not violated any election code. It is a non-issue which I don’t even feel like contradicting.”

Chandigarh, March 21
Punjab Congress leader and Bholath legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira today came out openly against Pradesh Congress president Mohinder Singh Kaypee, claiming the latter was only helping Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal by saying the complaint filed by him (Khaira) against Vigilance Director Sumedh Singh Saini was his personal matter.

Khaira had submitted a complaint to the Election Commission yesterday, demanding that Saini be suspended for “persecuting” Congressmen and Advocate-General HS Mattewal be removed to ensure “free and fair” elections in the state.

Talking to The Tribune, Khaira said he was pained to read Kaypee’s statement and said he would now have to clarify to the party rank whether he supported the Vigilance Department and its chief Saini.

The Congress leader said during the last two years the Vigilance Department, under a well-thought out conspiracy, had targeted the family members of former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Choudhary Jagjit Singh, Darbari Lal, Jugal Kishore and former DGP SS Virk.

He said presently the Vigilance Department had obtained bogus affidavits against four Congress legislators from the Bathinda constituency in order to pressurise them not to support the candidature of Raninder Singh from there. He said because of these tactics, Talwandi Sabo legislator Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu had been forced to take pre-arrest bail.

Khaira said he would write to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the entire issue and also highlight the fact that a few disgruntled Congressmen in Punjab did not want any action to be taken against Saini. 

Jalandhar, March 21
Senior leaders of the Congress have been trying hard to woo BJP MP from Hoshiarpur Avinash Rai Khanna to join their party. Sources said some days ago, a Congress minister from Punjab had urged Khanna to join the Congress party.

Besides this, they said, a senior Congress MP had also contacted Khanna, who is one of the most popular MPs, especially in Hoshiarpur belt and also known for simplicity and contacts at the grass-root level with workers. Khanna has been promised the Congress ticket from Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, it is learnt.

Asked in this regard, Khanna said he was faithful and loyal “sipahi” of the BJP and would not quit it at any cost. “I believe the Congress is deliberately spreading rumours with regard to me. If the Congress has no candidate to put up, it should not contest the election,” said Khanna.

The BJP has not nominated Khanna as candidate for the forthcoming LS elections in Punjab. Following delimitation, Hoshiarpur, from where Khanna won the LS election last time, has been declared as a reserved constituency.

The BJP has put up Som Parkash, a retired IAS officer, as candidate from Hoshiarpur this time. The constituency left for Khanna to contest the election is Anandpur Sahib. However, in allocation, it has gone to the SAD, an ally party of the BJP. The SAD has put up Dr Daljit Singh Cheema from Anandpur Sahib.

Jalandhar, March 21
The BJP seems to be in a spot over declaring LK Advani its prime ministerial candidate. A voter has raised questions about the legality of making such an announcement by a political party.

The elector, Mahabir Singh Yadav, has sent a complaint to the Election Commission (EC) alleging that the announcement by the BJP regarding Advani as its prime ministerial candidate has violated the provisions of the Constitution.

In the complaint, sent to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami through registered post on March 16, Yadav stated, “As per the Constitutional provisions, it is the privilege of elected members of any political party to choose their leader in the Lok Sabha and not that of a political party forum. This has transgressed into the free will of the elected members of Parliament (MPs) and the privilege granted to them under the Constitution.”

Yadav termed it “undemocratic, dictatorial and totally against the spirit of the Constitution”.

A resident of Jawa village of Bhiwani and living in Jalandhar at present, Yadav further stated, “The announcement is directly and indirectly an attempt to influence unlawfully the would-be elected members of their respective political parties, whereas this is the prerogative of the MPs to choose leader from among themselves after the general election”.

Having contested Assembly elections unsuccessfully as an independent candidate from Badhra in Haryana and Jalandhar cantonment in Punjab in 2000 and 2002, respectively, Yadav also drew the attention of the EC towards some political parties, which had declared some of its candidates several months before the formal announcement of the general election.

Yadav, who is willing to try his luck from the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency in Haryana, states, “As per provisions of the law, the EC grants only 14 days for electioneering to all candidates, but the announcement of the candidates in advance gives undue advantage to them for campaigning in comparison to those whose candidatures are announced after the declaration of the elections.”

Amritsar , March 21
The announcement by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Panch Pradhani) headed by Daljit Singh Bittu refusing to put off its march, scheduled to be held from Takht Damdama Sahib to Salabatpura, Bathinda-based Dera Sacha Sauda tomorrow, has created Panthic crisis.

The march flouts the directive of Jathedar, Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh to suspend agitations against the Dera Sacha Sauda.

The Jathedar has received flak from Sikh bodies, including the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) the Dal Khalsa and the Khalsa Action Committee (KAC) for issuing the directive individually without meeting of the Sikh clergy. 

The KAC has also announced to go ahead with the protest conference, scheduled to be held in Haji Rattan gurdwara (Bathinda) to protest against the arrest of Sant Baljit Singh Daduwal, spearheading the campaign against the Dera Sacha Sauda.

The SAD (Panch Pradhani) convener Bittu also talked to Giani Gurbachan Singh today, conveying his decision to go ahead with the march tomorrow. He said his organisation had planned to organise the march in a democratic and peaceful manner. 

However, he said instead of coming to Talwandi Sabo, the Jathedar, Akal Takht, preferred to issue directive to withdraw the agitation against the anti-Sikh activities of Dera Sacha Sauda He said Sikh bodies had been protesting against activities of the Dera following an earlier edict, issued by the Sikh clergy.

However, SGPC president Avtar Singh criticised the Panthic bodies for defying the directive of Akal Takht. He said no Sikh could afford to defy the edict/directives issued from Akal Takht. 

He, however, claimed that Giani Balwant Singh, Jathedar, Takht Nandgarh, would not honour the activists of the SAD (Panch Pradhani) after the directive issued by Akal Takht.

Bhai Ram Singh, secretary-general, SAD (A), expressed anguish over issuing the directive.

At a media briefing, at Akal Takht secretariat yesterday, Giani Gurbachan Singh had said individual programmes, given by different Sikh organisations under ‘emotional outbursts’ were aimed at breaking harmony in the Sikh Panth. 

The written directive, issued on letter-head of Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh also stated a meeting of Sikh clergy, proposed to be held after Baisakhi-birth of Khalsa Panth, would give a joint programme against the Dera Sacha Sauda.

Due to Lok Sabha elections, the Akali Dal has been trying to maintain peace in the state at least on the Dera Sacha Sauda issue. Mishandling of the Sikh-Dera issue can hit prospects of SAD candidate from Bathinda constituency. Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal had already announced a member of his family would contest Bathinda seat. 

Chandigarh, March 21
Congress Member of Parliament from Patiala Preneet Kaur has complained to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kusumjit Sidhu against DIG SK Asthana, alleging that he and his officers have leased a reign of terror in her constituency.

Accompanied by Congress MLA from Nabha Randeep Singh, Preneet personally met the CEO here this evening and demanded the DIG’s removal. She alleged that Asthana was terrorising her workers and lodging FIRs against them on frivolous complaints. She also gave complaints against SHO Dera Bassi Dalbir Singh and tehsildar Rajpura Kuldip Singh.

Talking to the media later, she said documentary evidence, photographs and CDs to support her allegations had been handed over to the CEO. “My workers are being threatened to either switch sides or face the consequences. Asthana was the SSP Patiala and was also part of the Vigilance team which has been hounding us for the past two years,” she said.

Randeep added Rajpura tehsildar Kuldip Singh, during the local body election last year, had changed the election staff over night. “We have no faith in his functioning and want him removed along with the SHO of Dera Bassi,” he said. He added that a local journalist too was threatened this morning and the complaint had been given to the CEO.

When asked if Capt Amarinder Singh and Election Commissioner Navin Chawla had a close association from their younger days, Preneet said, “I don’t know if they were class fellows, but we do know him for several years.”

In response to a question regarding her campaign, she said she had been campaigning for the past month. 

Jalandhar, March 21
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) that had announced to expand its political base beyond Punjab appears to have abandoned the plan at the moment. For the Lok Sabha elections, the SAD has shown no interest in putting up its nominees in neighbouring states like Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan where Sikhs have a sizeable population.

After becoming SAD president months ago, Sukhbir Singh Badal had announced “the party will not confine itself to Punjab, but will be prepared to play a role at the national level. Wherever there are Punjabis, we, too, will be there”. He had also talked about expanding the network of the party in Haryana, Delhi, etc.

However, now when various parties have declared their candidates for the LS elections, the SAD leadership is silent about contesting the elections in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. 

In fact, neither the patron of the SAD and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, nor his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal have touched the issue even once in the past few days.

The BJP, an ally of the SAD, has announced its candidates for six seats in Delhi. It did not offer any seat to the SAD there. Same is the case with Haryana where the BJP has entered into an alliance with Om Prakash Chautala’s party. The SAD has its political units in Haryana as well as in Delhi. It also has its support base in the Ganganagar belt of Rajasthan.

The party’s failure to win any seat in the Delhi Assembly elections appears to have had an adverse impact on its plans to expand its base in the neighbouring states.

Senior leader of the party in New Delhi Avtar Singh Hit said the party’s focus now was on Punjab. “We will put all our energy to defeat the Congress in Punjab; we are not focusing elsewhere.”

However, a senior leader of the Delhi Akali Dal, which is opposed to the SAD in Delhi, said Badal’s party had lost support base in Delhi. 

Moga, March 21
The district administration has not yet taken any action against Rajinder Bhandari, president of the state unit of the BJP, even after six days of the violation of model code of conduct, probably, under political pressure of the ruling SAD-BJP parties in the state.

The BJP president violated the poll code by holding a conference of the electorate without prior approval from the local administration. Party posters were affixed on private buildings without permission and he also used red light atop his personal vehicle when he came to participate in the election meeting organised by the youth wing of the party here on last Monday.

Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab Kusumjit Kaur Sidhu, while talking to the media at Chandigarh today, said this complaint was “still being examined at the district level”.

It is learnt that the Election Commission may seek an explanation from District Magistrate Satwant Singh Johal as to why the administration is taking such a long time to examine the case.

Sub-divisional Magistrate Ajay Sood while talking to The Tribune revealed that DSP (city) Bhupinder Singh, in a report submitted to him, has confirmed that Bhandari had used red light atop his vehicle when he came here to participate in an election rally.

Executive officer of the municipal council Brij Mohan Jhamb, in a separate report submitted to the administration also confirmed that the BJP had violated the Defacement of Property Act by affixing party banners/posters facing the national highway.

Amritsar, March 21
Though the three-day mela where liquor is offered as prasad at the samadh (tomb) of Baba Rode Shah on the Amritsar-Fatehgarh Churian road will formally begin from tomorrow, Baba’s followers have started thronging the site from today itself.

More than one lakh people visit the tomb of Baba Rode Shah during the mela.

Though Taraksheel Society members (rationalists) debunk claims of miracle cures at the shrine, the mela at the tomb of Baba Rode draws a big crowd. The late Baba belonged to a Jat Sikh family and was a teetotaller. The ancestral village of Baba Rode was Dhiman (Damodar) in border Gurdaspur district. He was son of Sham Singh, a farmer.

Stalls sell roasted chicken, fish and meat on the roadside and visitors enjoy their best cuisine during “pilgrimage” to the samadh.

Liquor as prasad is distributed in the presence of the police. Many policemen believe they will incur the wrath of Baba Rode, if they stop devotees from consuming the prasad.

As a ritual, devotees bring bottles, pouches and buckets containing heady cocktail of drinks. People having faith in Baba Rode are seen offering prayers for jobs, peace and success in life. The caretaker of the samadh claims leaders of all political parties pay obeisance here. A revenue patwari and caretaker of the samadh, said liquor of all kinds was being offered at the shrine, be it country-made or foreign-brewed whisky.

The offered liquor is put into a container and the "cocktail prasad" is distributed among the devotees.

Liquor flows into an iron pipe and devotees line up, holding steel glasses in hands. The young and old, including women, start thronging the mela since morning and partake the prasad of liquor and langar.

According to myth, Baba Rode moved to a village near Bhoma in 1896 and lived on the outskirts. His sister was married in this village. People believe Baba Rode started blessing to help people in distress. It is said once a devotee of Baba Rode offered him liquor in gratitude for a fulfilled wish. The Baba distributed the offering among his disciples. Later, this became a tradition.

The number of visitors to the fair has increased manifold over the years. Though Baba Rode died in 1924, the tradition is still alive, to the chagrin of the Taraksheel Society.

Jalandhar, March 21
Rice millers in Punjab have reduced shelling of paddy due to problem of space to stack rice. Covered warehouses are made available to the millers by government agencies. However, the rent for stacking foodgrains procured for the central pool and stacked in covered space is paid by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

“As millers have slowed down shelling of paddy, the shelling season will stretch to November-December when there will be new paddy available for shelling,” says Tarsem Saini, president, Punjab Rice Millers Association. Normally, paddy shelling should end before the arrival of new crop in October to enable millers to prepare mills for the next season. About 32 lakh tonnes of rice worth Rs 5,000 crore remained to be shelled from paddy in the state, said Saini. Already, 50 lakh tonnes of rice had been made available to the FCI for the central pool.

The issue of stacking was discussed with Food and Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon and his senior officers. They have told the millers, who would offer premises for the stacking of wheat, that they would be provided covered space in lieu of that to stack rice.

A similar offer has been made by the FCI in Sangrur district, “We have accepted the offer made by Kairon. We will give our premises for stacking wheat as part of the bargain of allowing us to stack rice in covered government-owned and hired warehouses,” said Saini.

However, the arrangement will not be sufficient as covered space will only be available for stacking 6 lakh tonnes of rice, whereas space will be required for 32 lakh tonnes of rice. “What has added to our woes is the slow movement of rice from Punjab to deficit states. At present 4 lakh tonnes every month of rice is moving out from Punjab to other states. Earlier, it used to be about 8 lakh tonnes per month,” said Saini.

In this regard, a senior FCI officer said, “Covered space for stacking about 104 lakh tonnes of foodgrains is available in Punjab. Of this, covered space storing 66 lakh tonnes of foodgrains is owned by government agencies and space for stacking 38 lakh tonnes of foodgrains is hired from private parties. However, already 25 lakh tonnes of old wheat stock, besides 50 lakh tonnes of fresh rice is lying in covered warehouses in the state”.

He said covered space for stacking only about 30 lakh tonnes of foodgrains would be available by April 1, the day procurement of wheat would start in the state. Of the available vacant covered space, the state government wanted to use it for stacking fresh wheat, it is learnt. Hence, shortage of space for stacking rice currently being prepared from paddy. Tejinder Singh Benipal, vice-president of the association, said delay in paddy shelling would lead to poor quality of rice from paddy.

Punjab’s money spent on procurement of paddy would remain blocked till the rice was transferred to the national pool, he said. 

Patiala, March 21
Perturbed by the alleged threat to blow up Parliament House building through an e-mail generated from Patiala, the Patiala district administration has swung into action by clamping a couple of restrictions on style of functioning of the cyber cafes in its bid to thrash any terrorist act.

A team of nearly dozen officials of the Delhi police crime branch, IB and other intelligence agencies, had raided two cyber cafes on Sheranwala Gate here after they laid their hands on some clues that the alleged e-mails containing threats to blow up the Parliament building had, in fact, was generated from Patiala. 

The intelligence officials also gathered list of those visitors at these cafes and the ones who were regular users or frequent visitors at the place for the purpose of establishing identity of the people behind the alleged threat.

Turning on its toes after the sensational threat episode, the Patiala district administration has tightened the noose around café owners by asking them to register every user or vistor at their respective places. 

The orders, issued by Additional District Magistrate Darshan Singh Sandhu, directed the cyber café owners to not only register users, but also to not allow access of computers to unknown persons sans identification.

“Make an entry in the handwriting of the visitor/user, mentioning name, address, telephone number and identity proof through identity card, voter card, ration card, driving licence, passport or photo credit card. 

The activity server lot should be preserved in main server and its record should be preserved in main server for at least six months. If any activity of the visitor of suspicious nature is noticed, the owner of the cyber café should inform the police. Record about the specific computer used by a person should be maintained,” said the order which would remain in force for at least a period of 60 days.

The order, according to trade sources, would affect the business of the cyber café owners as many youngsters visit these cafes for chatting etc. and they would not be landing at the place apprehending that their activities were being observed.

“Genuine customers would shy away from cafes,” said owner of a café.

Patiala, March 21
Absence of traffic management has made Patiala acquire reputation of a city with “killer roads” as the streets have witnessed as many as 306 vehicle users and others losing their lives and 665 having got seriously injured in 2008, the highest number of deaths registered anywhere in the state.

At the same time, perturbed over loss of such a large number of lives, the Patiala police authorities, led by SSP Arpit Shukla, have divided this “City of gardens” into four traffic zones to ensure better traffic management.

The exercise, according to Shukla, was part of the Patiala police’s strategy to make vehile users to adhere to rules and subsequently to lessen the number of accidents which, according to him, were highest in Patiala as compared to any other other districts.

The police records revealed that as many as 306 vehicle users and others had lost their lives while another 665 had sustained serious injuries in dozens of accidents which took place in and around Patiala city in the year 2008. The number, according to police sources, was highest in Punjab. 

“The reason behind such a large number of accidents is that Patiala has multiple national highways and other roads passing either through the city or surrounding it,” said a police official.

“We are very concerned about the situation and are in the process of issuing a white paper. It is aimed at educating people about road rules and the need to abide by them. As many as 2,494 vehicles were challaned in the current year and the courts recovered fines to the tune of over Rs 12.25 lakh from traffic violators,” said Shukla.

The traffic police, according to Shukla, has been instructed to deal sternly with overloaded vehicle owners and those two wheeler drivers who are seen without helmets.

Chandigarh, March 21
The common entrance test (CET) for admission to various engineering colleges in Punjab is likely to be held on May 3 and the joint entrance test (JET) for admission to polytechnics will be held on May 30.

Reliable sources in Punjab Technical University (PTU) said though the final date for the CET was yet to be notified by the Punjab government, all preparations were being made to hold the test on May 3.

The PTU conducts the CET for admission to engineering courses in colleges affiliated to the PTU, engineering colleges on the campuses of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, Punjabi University, Patiala, and Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. The JET is held for admission to diploma courses offered by polytechnics in the state and some institutes in Chandigarh.

Sources in the Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training here said the date for the test had been finalised and advertisements regarding the availability of the prospectus would be out soon.

The board is a pioneer in online counselling in the state. Last year, after students were tested and a merit list drawn, the board admitted the students to various institutes through the internet.

There is, however, still no news on when the Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences (BFUMS) would hold the PMET. “We have asked the state government to notify the examination after which a date will be finalised. But it has been decided that the university would conduct the PMET on its own and no help from any outside agency will be taken,” said Vice-Chancellor of the BFUMS Dr SS Gill.

He added that though the university was contemplating holding online counselling following the PMET as well, it would not be possible this year.

He said from next year the university would be outsourcing the entire process of conducting the PMET. “It is not our work to hold this entrance test,” he added.

Sangrur, March 21
An annual event, Techfest-2009, today began at the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology (SLIET) at Longowal, 20 km from here. In this three-day event, students from about 75 colleges are taking part.

The event was today inaugurated by Vice-Chancellor of the Central University (Punjab) Prof Jai Rup Singh.

Inaugurating the event, Prof Jai Rup Singh, who was the chief guest, emphasised on the development of environment-friendly technology. While talking about e-waste and radiation hazards, he said the excess use of technology was very dangerous. He cited an example by saying that due to excess use of mobile phone, radiations could cause tumour.

Director, National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research, Chandigarh, Dr SC Laroiya, director, SLIET, Dr V Sahni and patron, Techfest-2009, Dr Sanjay Marwaha also spoke on the occasion.

Amritsar, March 21
For creating awareness about the rich Punjabi language and culture, Tokyo University will start a course in the language from the next academic session.

This was stated by Dr Norio Okaguchi, Professor and Head, Research Institute for Languages and Culture for Asia and Africa, while talking to the media here yesterday. He said he was on a three-day visit to the holy city to prepare the syllabi for the language in association with the School for Punjabi Studies (SPS) Guru Nanak Dev University.

He further informed that Dr Jatinder Singh Jolly of the SPS would also be visiting Tokyo.

Chandigarh, March 21
Davinder Pal Singh was uprooted from Pakistan during the Partition. Just when he and so many others were settling down along Sirhand canal, the government decided to get the land vacated for widening the national highway.

Their reaction to the second displacement saw the Punjab and Haryana High Court issuing clear cut directions to the state for providing them with alternative sites. But the directions remained unimplemented, compelling them to move the high court again and again.

Coming down heavily on the state, Justice Surya Kant of the high court has now ruled “inordinate delay” in allotting alternative sites to those uprooted during the Partition was wholly unfortunate and unwarranted.

Justice Kant added there was nothing per-se illegal in asking the petitioners to vacate the sites for highway widening purposes, but their claim for allotment of alternative sites, as directed by the high court, has to be taken care of and implemented.

In their petition, Davinder Pal Singh and others had earlier asserted they had constructed houses and shops on government land after migrating from Pakistan.

They were settled on lease-hold basis, but the state government on March 24, 1990, decided against renewing the lease for getting the land vacated.

Their petition against the move was disposed of by the high court with a direction to the state to provide alternative sites to the petitioners. Directions for granting compensation for the superstructures raised by them were also issued. The high court had added National Highway number 10 could not be widened at the cost of the petitioners.

Davinder Pal and other petitioners added again in 1995 an effort was made to dispossess them, without paying compensation for the superstructures. Their petition was this time disposed of on the basis of an undertaking that petitioners would not be dispossessed till they were allotted alternative sites.

Appearing before the high court for the third time, the petitioners said they were being asked to demolish the structures for widening the national highway without alternative sites being provided.

Chandigarh, March 21
The Punjab and Haryana High Court wants advertisements of magic remedies to vanish. Acting on a petition seeking action against tantriks publishing misleading advertisements in the newspapers on their expertise in black magic, the high court has asked the police authorities in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to act.

The Bench of Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Jasbir Singh has asked them to take suitable action whenever any violation of the Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act comes to their notice.

The Bench has further directed the forwarding of the order’s copy to the Law Commission chairman for “perusal and examination” to see if “there is any scope for reviewing or suitably modifying the scheme of the Act, so as to bring the advertisements within the preview of the legislation....

“We need to mention that once people who make their knowledge about the divine scheme regarding human lives, as source of income or livelihood or business, the problem of deception and fraud arise….

“Larger public interest, therefore, demands that before the unscrupulous among the astrologers bring a bad name to the subject and the science, law must intervene to regulate the advertisements…” 

Malerkotla, March 21
The Malerkotla police today registered an FIR against Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president and party candidate from the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency Simranjit Singh Mann for allegedly violating the election model code of conduct. The FIR has been lodged under Section 188, IPC, for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of a particular community.

According to information, Bhupinder Kumar Neetu, a resident of Singh Sabha Gurdwara area, in a written complaint to the local police alleged that Mann in a rally organised near the bus stand late last night raised the issue of Babri Masjid. 

He had organised the rally without getting permission from the administration and had thus violated the code.

He demanded an immediate action against Mann and his supporters. Taking action on the complaint, the local police booked Mann, Harjot Singh of Narike Kalan, Balwinder Singh and Mohammed Ilyas of Malerkotla. 

Sangrur, March 21
Condemning the registration of a case by the Malerkotla police against him under Section 188 of the IPC for allegedly violating the provisions of the election code of conduct, president of the SAD (A) and candidate of the party from the Sangrur Lok Sabha (LS) constituency, Simranjit Singh Mann said today that he had not violated the Section 144, CrPC, in any way, so a case under Section 188, IPC, could not be registered against him.

Talking to The Tribune over the phone this evening, Mann said he had been called by a Muslim youth to his private residence at Malerkotla the previous evening. He said at that house neither any loud speaker had been used nor a rally had been addressed by him. However, he admitted that he had only condemned the demolition of the Babri mosque and Akal Takht.

Mann said no one could raise objection over talking about the historical facts, regarding demolition of Babri mosque and Akal Takht. He also said the police had been adopting “double standards” in the cases of violations of the code.

Mann further asked why the police had not registered any case for the violation of the code against Punjab PWD Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa who had “violated” the code by delivering a speech, regarding elections, at Gurdwara Nanakiana Sahib at Sangrur the previous day.