Jalandhar, April 24
Contrary to the expectations of the SAD, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has become a central issue in the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab. Congress candidates are wooing people and seeking votes in his name in rural areas. 

Preneet Kaur, her son Raninder Singh, Manish Tewari, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Om Parkash Soni, Partap Singh Bajwa and other Congress candidates have been urging voters that if they are keen to see Punjabi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the seat of power in Delhi, they should ensure the victory of their (Congress candidates) in the state. 

The Congress candidates and other Congress leaders have been urging voters to pose questions to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal why had they directed their party (SAD) MPs to vote against Manmohan during a confidence motion in the LS a few months ago? “Do you want LK Advani or Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister?” this is the question often posed to people by Congress leaders at their election rallies. 

There has been a strong reaction from the Congress to SGPC chief Avtar Singh’s remarks that the Prime Minister is not a Sikh. “Neither Manmohan nor we need a certificate from Avtar Singh to prove that we are Sikh”, said former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. 

A day earlier, the Congress leaders had blasted the BJP leader Balbir Singh Punj for describing Manmohan as a “circus’ lion”.

Already, president of the Delhi Akali Dal Paramjit Singh Sarna has been campaigning in support of Manmohan in the state. Even Manjit Singh Calcutta, former minister and secretary of the SGPC, has started canvassing in support of the Congress candidates. Yesterday, Calcutta addressed a rally in support of the Congress candidate at Wadala Bangar village in the Gurdaspur constituency where former Akali minister Sucha Singh Chhotepur had joined the Congress.

When asked Parkash Singh Badal and his confidant Bikram Singh Majithia had asked him to stay in the SAD, Calcutta said Badal was for Advani as Prime Minister and that was not acceptable to him as he was all for Manmohan. 

Calcutta said: “Manmohan was made the Prime Minister by the Congress on merit because he is an intelligent and an honest person.”

Kot Sekhon (Khanna), April 24
Five passengers of a Haryana Roadways bus were killed in an accident late last night when the bus they were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck loaded with thick iron rods.

The iron roads were protruding 8 ft behind the truck (PB 23 F 8824), which was parked haphazardly at the GT Road near the historical Manji Sahib Gurdwara.

The bus (HR 38 N 5666) began its journey from Delhi to Chamba at around 7.30 pm and met with the accident at 12.15 midnight. Police officials from the Kot and Bija police posts and the Khanna Sadar police station took out the injured and dead bodies.

It took nearly six hours to take out the bodies from the bus. “All body parts of the dead were torn apart, as the iron rods had pierced their bodies,” said constable Bakhshish Singh from the Kot police station.

Nearly 17 passengers were in the bus, including the bus driver and the conductor. Most of the passengers were sleeping when the incident took place. The rescue operation continued till today morning at around 7 am. The drivers of the bus and truck have been booked. Bus driver Subhash Chand is undergoing treatment and the truck driver is absconding.

The deceased have been identified as Mohan Lal (55), son of Gurdit Singh, resident of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh, Mitali Grover (6), daughter of Jatinder Grover, resident of Chamba, Megh Raj (29), bus conductor from Uttar Pradesh, Nar Singh (29), son of Paru Ram, resident of Chamba, and Sukhpal Singh (32) from Hoshiarpur. The injured have been identified as Swarn Lata, Dungar Singh from Rajasthan, Kuldeep Kaur, Deepika Grover, Meena Kukreja from Chamba and her 10-year-old son Abhishek. The injured are undergoing treatment at private hospitals in Doraha and Khanna.

Ludhiana, April 24
Investment of black money in the satta bazaar in the city on the results of the Lok Sabha elections on May 16 is increasing every day. The satta season started before the IPL cricket matches, which commenced recently.

A trader, betting ‘peti’ (Rs 1 lakh) on a local candidate, said, “The IPL matches have just begun, so there are no separate rates for any favourite team. In initial matches, we had interesting twists with even the champions and runners-up losing, so it will take some time for investors to throw dice in favour of any team. As far as state politics is concerned, bookies have set cards in favour of the Congress in Punjab, with eight-nine seats”.

An old hand in satta business, said, “In the general elections gambling pundits put the Congress share at eight, nine seats, in Punjab, of the 13. Preneet Kaur, wife of former Congress CM Amarinder Singh, is being seen as the biggest winner. “Her rating in the satta bazaar can be gauged from the fact that bookies are not willing to accept offers with only 20 points in return of her success. Mohinder Kaypee, Congress candidate from Jalandhar, is getting rate of 30. The betting ‘gurus’ put the gamble in favour of Navjot Singh Sidhu, BJP candidate from Amritsar, and Harsimrat Kaur, daughter-in-law of SAD patron Prakash Singh Badal, from Bathinda”.

A trader and seasoned satta player, said, “In Ludhiana, the betting agents put the election results in favour of Manish Tewari, Congress candidate. An investor gets Rs 48,000 in case he bets Rs 1 lakh in Tewari’s favour and Tewari wins the election. In case, one bets Rs 1 lakh on his rival Gurcharan Galib from the SAD, a gambler could get Rs 1.90 lakh in case of his victory”.

Lakhs are being betted every day by city residents from different walks of life, including politics and other professions. On how the system worked, he said, “We don’t know anything. We place our bet on the telephone. Rest depends on faith. There is no paper work. We pay or get the money from the person we talk to”.

A political activist said, “We don’t have names of who can be controlling the trade. There are talks that the business is probably being operated from Mumbai. Of course, someone decides the rates which have to be based on ground-level calculations. This could mean data collection teams everywhere. In fact, we never need names, at all, as the system works perfectly. Only the interested bet and no one else is affected”.

Gurdaspur, April 24 
Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha seat from Gurdaspur Pratap Singh Bajwa today claimed that his party was instrumental in getting the two main bridges built across the Ravi and the Beas in Gurdsapur. 

Bajwa alleged that Vinod Khanna’s claims of constructing the Shalla Pattan bridge on the Beas and the Kachlour bridge over the Ravi were baseless. He pointed out that the Shalla Pattan bridge was sanctioned during the Congress regime when Pranab Mukerjee was Chairman of the Planning Commission. 

“The construction of the Kachlour bridge was sanctioned when Capt Amarinder Singh was the Chief Minister and I was the PWD minister. I got the work on the bridge started in 2005 and it was complete in 18 months,” he said, while addressing a public rally at Jhappkhara village in the Dina Nagar Assembly constituency. 

Bajwa also ridiculed the family politics of the Badals in the state. Taking a dig at Vinod, Bajwa said every voter should remember that he was an actor and was still acting out the role of an MP. “All promises he is making are just dialogues and not to be believed,” he said.

Jalandhar, April 24
Even as his Congress opponent Ravneet Singh Bittu has been using hi-tech gadgets, SAD Anandpur Sahib candidate Daljeet Singh Cheema has chosen a traditional style of campaigning, perhaps to form an appeal with rural masses.

A group of four kavishars (bards), wearing badges that bear pictures of Dr Cheema and the party symbol on their kurtas, reaches the venue of the rally ahead of the candidate. “The idea is to pull crowds and keep them engaged and seated before Dr Cheema turns up to address them,” said one of the party organisers.

But there is more into it. The kavishars begin reciting the valour of Guru Gobind Singh and quickly change tunes to go gaga about the candidate, “Cheema sahib di jit de vajde nagare”. 

The group from Gurdaspur, led by Joga Singh Bhagowalia, fits in words of praise for all top Akali leaders from CM, Deputy CM and even Akali MLAs who organise rallies for him in their poetry. They conclude with “Takdi walian di balle balle” before leaving for the next venue. 

Even as Dr Cheema follows a traditional mode of campaigning, he does not conform to the conventional style of dressing as of Akalis. He wears trousers and a shirt with a trademark black turban. Asked why he had not transited to wearing kurta pyjama, he explains, “I have never worn it. I want to remain the way I have been”. 

The SAD candidate boasts of having got the support of medical fraternity and NRIs in the area. 

Sangrur, April 24
Despite campaigning by candidates, people in this Parliamentary constituency feel that the current Lok Sabha (LS) elections are free from glamour and noise pollution.

Though it is due to the EC’s strictness, people are happy that the walls of their houses, shops and other business establishments are not being defaced against their wishes by pasting of the posters or writings on the walls.

Hardly someone can be seen campaigning on a rickshaw or vehicle through public address systems, due to which people are heaving a sigh of relief nowadays.

Election flags and banners can be seen only at specific places, including election offices of the candidates or premises of their supporters. However, one can see banners and posters at the rallies of the candidates. 

While appreciating EC’s strictness, people are of the view that this time the LS elections are different from the previous (2004) LS elections.

Besides, the candidates and their supporters have also started believing in holding corner meetings, small rallies or visiting door to door. The media centres of some candidates are releasing press notes regarding their daily tours to various places of the constituency. The candidates are also holding press conferences to air their views.

Meanwhile, as many as 12 FIRs were registered in a day today at Bhawanigarh, Malerkotla and Dhuri under Section 3 of the Prevention of Defacement Property Act. The Bhawanigarh police arrested Jagtar Singh, Malkit Singh and Balbir Singh for allegedly violating the model code of conduct. 

Gurdaspur : Vinod Khanna, the BJP-SAD candidate owns a fleet of six cars, including a BMW, 2 Mercedes, a Toyota, a Palio and a battery operated Reva. He paid Rs one crore as income tax last year, has a house in Mumbai worth Rs. 20 crore and has cash and bank deposits worth Rs 3.75 crore. — TNS

Gurdaspur: Congress candidate from here, Pratap Singh Bajwa, appears a poor cousin of Vinod Khanna, judging by his declaration of assets. But he has land worth Rs. 3.25 crore, a property in Chandigarh worth Rs. 4 crore, two cars and has Rs. 40 lakhs in cash and in bank accounts. He had paid Rs. 28,168 as income tax. — TNS

Ludhiana: An undertrial lodged in the central jail here, Ravinder Kumar Sabharwal, was today escorted by policemen to the Returning Officer so that he could file his nomination as independent candidate. He stands accused of killing his 19 year-old daughter Rajni and her 27 year-old partner Rajesh in 2005, a charge that he denies. Sabharwal was escorted back to jail. His application for bail for campaigning comes up before the court on Monday. — TNS

Jalandhar: Congress candidate Mahinder Singh Kaypee has most of his investments in the form of his property worth Rs 3.7 crore. The assets declared by the candidate on Thursday indicate that he owns shops, plots and residential property worth Rs 2.19 crore while his agricultural property is worth Rs 1.51 crore. Even BSP candidate Surjit Singh is a crorepati. A retired forest officer, he has a filling station at Dabwali, agricultural land worth Rs 26.25 lakh and three flats with a total value of Rs 59.3 lakh. — TNS 

Faridkot: Seventeen candidates have filed nomination papers from the Faridkot (R) constituency. They included Bibi Paramjit Kaur Gulshan (SAD), Sukhwinder Singh Danny (Congress), Bibi Kaushalya Chaman Bhaura (CPI), Dr Resham Singh (BSP), Nirmal Singh (LJP), Prem Singh (SP), Gurlal Singh (All-India Dalit Welfare Congress), Pritam Singh (RPI) and Gurmeet Singh (Punjab Labour Party). 

Tarn Taran: On the final day here on Friday, the number of candidates filing nominations has risen to 20 with Sarpanch Singh of the BSP and several independents also joining the fray.Meanwhile, election observers B Venkateshan (mobile no. 09703502555, Khadoor Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi and Kapurthala) KS Sriniwasa (No. 09949995080, Khemkaran, Patti and Zira) and BK Malik (No. 9433033585, Jandiala Guru, Baba Bakala and Tarn Taran) have joined duties. — TNS

Amritsar, April 24
Even as no formal draft of an apology by Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda has been prepared, Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh, Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, alleged dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was making the mockery of the age-old Sikh institution by laying preconditions for appearing before Akal Takht.

Talking to The Tribune on the phone here today, Jathedar Nandgarh said the latest offer to tender a conditional apology by the dera was aimed at denigrating Akal Takht and the institution of Jathedars. He said nobody who believed in Sikhism could lay conditions for appearing before the Sikh high priests. He said the high priests won’t take up the case of dera chief before the Lok Sabha elections.

A crucial meeting of the political wing of the dera is likely to be held at Sirsa on April 26 to take final decision on support to a political party in the elections. However, sources said the wing might send verbal instructions to dera followers to evade any political backlash by the ruling SAD. 

Meanwhile, Giani Gurbachan Singh, Jathedar of Akal Takht, faced a boycott by a section of Sikh community in Canada where he landed today. The Jathedar had gone there to participate in the annual nagar kirtan, which is held after Baisakhi. A warring Sikh faction has opposed the move of the Jathedar, Akal Takht, to participate in the nagar kirtan, which would start from a marriage place in Ontario.

Jalandhar, April 24
Even as Punjab Technical University (PTU) is going ahead with an online counselling for CET candidates seeking admission to B Tech and B Pharmacy, it may have to rely on the traditional manual mode of counselling for certain categories of applicants.

Following several rounds of meetings in this connection held by the unviversity authorities and the National Informatics Centre (NIC), it has been decided that it is practically impossible for them to hold online counselling for categories such as Sikh minority, sports, handicapped and local area quota.

Candidates applying under any of the four categories will have to physically appear before the counselling team with relevant documents for admission. They, of course, will have an option to try even through online mode in case they feel that they have a good rank and can get a seat through general category as well, Jaspal Singh of the admission cell said.

Sikh minority applicants will have to first appear for a Sikh religion examination being conducted by the SGPC on May 9. The qualifying candidates will also have to appear for physical verification test before an SGPC team for admission to either of the two SGPC-run colleges, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, and Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College, Fatehgarh Sahib, both of which have 50 per cent reservation for 
such candidates.

Even in case of sports quota, online counselling seems to be unlikely as the other three participating universities, Punjab Agricultural University, Punjabi University and Guru Nanak Dev University, follow different norms for admission. In addition, a special sports panel needs to be set up for discussion of the eligibility of candidates based on their performance at national and international levels. 

Chandigarh, April 24
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today extended the contours of the contempt of court laws to go beyond ensuring mere implementation of court orders. It came to the rescue of a woman farmer in Sangrur by directing the cops to help her harvest the crop.

Taking up Jaswinder Kaur’s petition for action under the Contempt of Court Act, Justice TPS Mann ruled: “It shall be the responsibility of senior superintendent of police, Sangrur, to ensure that the petitioner is able to harvest the wheat crop, which is claimed to have been sown by her.”

In her petition, Jaswinder Kaur had earlier alleged intentional disobedience of orders dated May 26, last year. The petitioner had contended she had inherited 16 bighas of agriculture land, but her maternal uncle’s sons wanted to grab the same. In fact, the accused gathered wheat crop from her fields.

The petitioner claimed she filed a complaint for providing protection to life, liberty and property, on which the high court directed the respondents to look into the matter and dispose of the representation.

But the same had not so far been decided.

As the matter came up for hearing, the SSP said the police found it difficult to determine the portion owned and possessed by the petitioner, as she was a co-owner. Even the revenue officers, associated in the process, found it difficult to identify her share.

Going beyond just asking the cops to decide her representation, Justice Mann asserted: It is a sad state of affairs where a woman, who is the owner of land, has not been allowed to carry on with agriculture operations. Though she claims to have sown wheat, according to her she has not been allowed to harvest the same, which has since ripened. Her cousins-collaterals are taking undue advantage of the fact that the entire land holding is joint and, therefore, are not permitting her to harvest the wheat crop.

Fixing April 28 for further hearing the matter, Justice Mann asserted: “The SSP shall seek assistance of the revenue authorities so as to earmark and identify 18 kanals and eight marlas belonging to the petitioner after making necessary measurements. It would be appreciated if the harvesting is completed before the next date of hearing”.