Jalandhar, April 10
It has been nearly a decade and a half ever since the project of the construction of Bharat Ratna Dr B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan in the district administrative complex had got sanctioned, but the work is still lying pending.

Even more ironical is the fact that leaders of both major rival parties in the state have laid a foundation stones here during their respective tenures, still nothing concrete in the name of the Dalit icon has come to the fore, despite the reserved constituency having sizeable number of SC votebank.

Even as the SAD and Congress seem to have forgotten their promise of a quick work on the project, the BSP leaders have surely made it an election issue here. Sukhwinder Kotli, state general secretary, BSP, lamented, “The state governments since the past 15 years have miserably failed to fulfil this single commitment to the large SC population in the area. We were promised of a library where from the youth could find an extensive literature about the life and teachings of the architect of the Indian Constitution.

“We are also expecting some kind of a free coaching centre here for the bright, poor students who could get training for admission to medical, engineering, management and other professional colleges. The halls could have also been used as a venues for holding marriage functions, meetings and other programmes. Some offices could have been set up here for dispensing welfare schemes to the SC population. By doing so, the governments would have earned goodwill of thousands of families, but they have not paid a heed to it.”

It was during the previous tenure of Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal in 1999 that the first foundation stone at the site had been laid. The project failed to take off for nearly seven years till Rs 50 lakh was received for the purpose from the Punjab Nirman Funds around October, 2006.

The work began on full swing just two weeks before the election code of conduct came into force prior to the assembly polls with the laying of another foundation stone on the site in December, 2006 by Mahinder Singh Kaypee, the present Congress candidate from Jalandhar.

The basic building structure came up quite quickly but no headway has been made since the past more than a year owing to paucity of funds. The unfinished structures for library, welfare office, store, multi-purpose hall and other rooms planned as a part of the building are lying as they were since long time.

The project was initiated in 1995 when it was proposed that it be set up within the boundaries of Gandhi Vanita Ashram on Kapurthala Road. Later on, it was pointed out that the ashram had little space to offer.

Jalandhar, April 10
Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal appeared to have softened her stance against her party colleague and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh as she justified the fielding of Raninder Singh, son of Amarinder Singh, from Bathinda.

“Raninder is a winning candidate. All the Badals have joined against him but he has an upper hand as he has done a good legwork in Bathinda,” she claimed.

Denying differences, Bhattal claimed that the Congress was united and all the party leaders were making efforts for a clean sweep for all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

The controversy over the issue of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar is over with the withdrawal of their names from the Lok Sabha seats, said former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal.

Bhattal, who was here in the city today, claimed that the Congress high command has taken a right decision about both the senior leaders, who were allegedly involved in 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Addressing a press conference here, Bhattal said that Akalis should not raise this sensitive issue again just to gain political mileage. Welcoming the appointment of the senior Congress leader and former minister Lal Singh as the acting president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) by the party high command, Bhattal termed it as need of the hour.

With the appointment of Lal Singh as an acting chief of the party in Punjab, Mohinder Singh Kaypee, who was looking after the charge earlier, could concentrate more on his Lok Sabha constituency from were he is contesting elections.

Coming down heavily on the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, Bhattal claimed that the law and order situation has worsened in last two years of their regime.

She said the state government should immediately provide relief to the rain-affected farmers of Punjab.

Jalandhar, April 10
Why people resort to hurling shoes at politicians is a question that haunts everyone these days and a local NGO, Uprala Society, has some up with some very interesting observations on the issue.

Anil Vashist, Sanjay Sehgal, Ajay Sehgal and K S Bhatia, members of the outfit, are of the view that such incidents are the result of pent up frustrations and a feeling of despondency among the masses.

Since politicians are perceived by people to be the root cause of all that plagues the system, they become easy targets since they have to mingle with the people and are especially accessible during election times, they pointed out.

It is not that the average man believes in violent means to get justice. He resorts to such acts after exhausting all options like making endless rounds of government offices and giving memorandums and applications to the local politicians. When he feels that he is waging a battle he’s ultimately going to lose, he lashes out in fury, they pointed out.

Such feelings are also a result of the personal experiences of the people who live with a sense of déjà vu. They have seen numerous scandals and scams since Independence but no one has ever been brought to book.

Hence, they feel the need to make a symbolic gesture which would convey the amount of frustration piled p in the hearts of the suffocated masses, they added.

The data compiled by a leading magazine sometime back, revealed that while the average citizen lives on Rs 10 a day and without basic amenities, politicians had grown richer by leaps and bounds.