Chandigarh, April 29
In Punjab, older the candidate, better are his academic qualifications. A study of affidavits submitted by 36 of the 214 candidates in the run for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state makes interesting revelations.

Most of the first-timers or fresh faces, including Harsimrat Kaur Badal, folk singer Hans Raj Hans, Ravneet Singh Bittu and Vijay Inder Singla are undergraduates.

On the other hand, veterans like Charanjit Singh Athwal, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Manish Tewari are qualified professionals.

Faridkot, a reserve constituency, not only draws a first-timer against a sitting MP, but also puts two of the highly qualified candidates in a direct contest.

Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, an Akali candidate, is a double postgraduate and a
qualified teacher.

Her opponent Sukhwinder Singh Danny (Congress) is postgraduate and also an MBA from Webster’s Graduate Regents College, London.

Interestingly, Harsimrat has given her qualifications as a matriculate with a diploma in textile designing.

Her opponent, Raninder Singh, is BCom from Buckingham University. Raninder’s mother Preneet Kaur, Congress candidate from Patiala, is a graduate.

Though a website of the Punjab Youth Congress talks of Vijay Inder Singla taking to politics after pursuing his degree in engineering, his affidavit says he is 10 plus II. So is Ravneet Singh Bittu.

Among the professionals, there are three qualified doctors. Two of them, Daljit Singh Cheema and Rattan Singh Ajnala, are SAD candidates from Anandpur Sahib and Khadoor Sahib, respectively, while the third, Sukhwinder Kumar, is a qualified ENT specialist and BSP candidate.

Som Parkash, who quit IAS to join politics, is also a postgraduate. Bakshi Krishan Nath Chhiber, BSP candidate from Amritsar, is MSc from Madras.

Baba Balkar Singh, president, Bharatiya Gaon Taj Dal and candidate from Khadoor Sahib, is also a postgraduate from Panjab University. They all are contesting elections for the first time.

Of 36 candidates, 12 are graduates. They include Navjot Sidhu (BJP-Amritsar), Kaushalya Chaman (CPM - Faridkot), Hardev Arshi (CPM - Bathinda), Partap Singh Bajwa (Cong - Gurdaspur), Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (SAD - Sangrur), Simranjit Singh Mann (SAD - Amritsar, Sangrur), Santosh Chaudhary (Cong - Hoshiarpur) and Kewal Krishan (BSP - Anandpur Sahib).

Simranjit Singh Mann is a gold medallist and is BA (Hons), while Santosh Chaudhary has done BEd. Gurdev Singh of the BSP is graduate.

Gurcharan Singh Galib (SAD - Ludhiana), Sukhdev Singh Libra (Congress - Fatehgarh Sahib), Sher Singh Ghubaiya (SAD - Ferozepur) and Rana Gurjit Singh (Congress - Khadoor Sahib) are matriculates.

Bollywood star Vinod Khanna is Jr BCom from Mumbai. Tarsem Jodhan (CP ML-Liberation), a candidate from Sangrur, has completed BA(II) only.

Amritsar, April 29
Jathedar, Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh courted controversy when he addressed a congregation at Gurdwara Dixie, Canada, where a banner of “Sikh homeland Khalistan” was put on the stage to mark Khalsa Day.

Interestingly, this is the same gurdwara where Capt Amarinder Singh, the then
Chief Minister of Punjab, had addressed a Sikh sangat with the backdrop of
“Khalistan” in 2005.

Amarinder had to defend himself by saying: “I cannot read all banners or posters in a hall where I go. Moreover, the banner with the words ‘Khalistan zindabad’ on it was behind me and I do not have eyes on my back.”

However, the jathedar on his return to Amritsar admitted that he had seen the banner of “Khalistan” before addressing the Sikh sangat.

He said he had nothing to do with the demand of a separate Sikh state and added that the management of Gurdwara Committee, Dixie, was committed to Akal Takht.

He clarified that neither any representative of the gurdwara panel nor he himself touched upon such issue during the congregation.

To another question, the jathedar admitted that some youth had raised slogans in favour of “Khalistan” during a nagar kirtan, at Better Living Centre, Canada.

He, however, did not enter the centre to avoid any controversy because the then Jathedar, Akal Takht, Bhai Ranjit Singh, had pronounced an edict banning carrying of Guru Granth Sahib in hotels or marriage palaces.

Earlier, the then Jathedar, Akal Takht, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti had courted controversy when he had openly supported the demand for creating “independent Sikh homeland” during his visit to New York in April last year.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had to face embarrassment when media sought his reaction on the announcement of Vedanti, who had stated: “The community has the right to a separate Sikh state”.

While Vedanti had put the ruling SAD in a sticky situation during the Amritsar by-election last year, the address of present incumbent Giani Gurbachan Singh has created a controversy when Parliament elections are round the corner.

Bathinda, April 29
Congress candidate for the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat Raninder Singh has urged the Election Commission to immediately deploy Central security forces in the constituency as there was “apprehension” of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) resorting to underhand means to get the election countermanded.

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, Raninder Singh today demanded extra Central security cover for all candidates contesting from the Bathinda constituency where Harsimrat Kaur Badal, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, was the SAD candidate.

In his letter, he pointed out that “out of desperation” the SAD might take any step to countermand the election.

Raninder has demanded that a control room managed by the Central security forces should be established as the Punjab police was not in a position to perform free and fair duty when the Deputy CM’s wife was contesting from here.

The Congress candidate has also asked for the constituency be cleaned of outsiders, Students Organisation of India (SOI) activists and fake identity card holders before the polling begins on May 7.

He has claimed that activists of the SOI, an organisation floated by the Deputy Chief Minister, and anti-social elements were terrorising the peaceful voters in the urban areas of the constituency.

Among others who spoke in the rally were Congress MLA Sher Singh Gagowal, Congress MLA Ajit Inder Singh Mofer, Ravinder Amla, Raminder Richi, Gurpreet Singh and Simranjeet Singh Manshahia.

Phillaur, April 29
Tugging at the heartstrings of people with his superstar status in the world of Punjabi folk-singing coupled with the an emotional appeal to vote for him seems to be the mantra of SAD-BJP Lok Sabha candidate Hans Raj Hans from the Jalandhar (SC) parliament constituency.

The fact that his celebrity status is working wonders is evident from the fact that women outnumber men at his public meetings.

Even schoolgirls made it to the venue to have a glimpse of Hans in the scorching heat at Nangal village in the Phillaur Assembly constituency.

Listening patiently to the election rhetoric of Hans was Harmeet Kaur, an expectent mother who came along with some womenfolk.

“This is a dream-come-true moment for me. He is one of my favourite singers. He is a good orator too,” she said.

During public meetings, the singer stays away from any mudslinging and direct attack on his opponents and instead blows the trumpet of achievements of the SAD-BJP government and that too in the form of couplets.

However, some of the elderly people expressed resentment in the name of the
political system.

Tirath Singh from Raipur Rasulpur village in Phillaur maintained: “Politicians walk down the dusty lanes of every village seeking votes. And once the elections are over they are nowhere to be found. This is a hopeless system.”

Hans is quick to say: “Vote for me and I will restore the credibility of politics at the grass-root level.”

Accepting regards from a group of elderly women he said: “The plight of villagers has virtually shaken my soul. I will raise the issues of female foeticide, drug addiction, unemployment and poor education system to pave way for development.”

Kharar, April 29
A day after joining the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the disgruntled former Congress leader Bir Devinder today spoke at length against All-India Congress Committee (AICC), terming it a den of corruption.

Speaking during a SAD rally held in support of SAD-BJP candidate Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema, Bir Devinder spilled beans on Amritsar and Ludhiana improvement trust scams, alleging that AICC was given Rs 55 lakh by Capt Amarinder Singh.

He alleged that one cheque of Rs 30 lakh of Kotak Mohindra Bank, New Delhi, bearing no. 00017 and second cheque of Rs 25 lakh of HDFC bank bearing no. 437879, were credited to the account of the AICC. He said that he had met Sonia Gandhi over this issue but nothing came out of it.

Coming out heavily against former CM Capt Amarinder, he said the latter had sent Brig Khaira to him after his question regarding Amritsar scam was listed in Vidhan Sabha, offering him five plots in lieu of remaining absent on the day of question.

He claimed that the former CM had been pursuing him for a compromise, “But I refused,” he said.

Later, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said pro-Congress wave was limited just to Amarinder Singh’s Moti Mahal.

Prominent among others present included Hoshiarpur MP Avinash Rai Khanna, Jasjit Singh Bunny, Kiranbir Singh Kang, Ujagar Singh Badali, Charanjit Singh Channi (both MLAs), Khushwant Rai Geega, Amrik Singh Mohali and Kuldeep Kaur Kang.

Patiala, April 29
Prestige of the main political parties — Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and the Congress — may have been at stake and the leadership of both the parties may have been striving hard to wrest people’s mandate in their favour.

But by and large the Patiala Lok Sabha seat has been a Congress bastion as the party had managed to corner victory nine times. Its main rival outfit-the SAD — registered victory four times since 1952.

SAD heavyweight Prem Singh Chandumajra and Congress candidate Preneet Kaur are locked in thick battle for the seat and are leaving no stone unturned to woo voters.

The Patiala Parliamentary segment comprises nine Assembly seats —Patiala (urban), Patiala (rural), Shutrana, Nabha, Samana, Sanaur, Rajpura, Dera Bassi and Ghanaur.

The constituency has 13,37,520 registered voters of which 6,37,059 are female and 70,0461 male voters.

On an average, nearly 60 per cent of voters have been excercising their franchise
in the past.

While Chandumajra had tasted victory in 1996 and 1998 as a SAD candidate, Preneet Kaur had won the seat in 1999 and 2004.

If Chandumajra had won the seat in 1998 by securing 4,10,937 of a total of 13,13, 159 votes by defeating Capt Amarinder Singh, who had bagged 3,77,686 votes, Preneet had got voters tilted in her favour in 1999 and 2004 by securing 3,60,125 and 40,9917 votes, defeating her nearest rivals Surjit Singh Rakhra and late Capt Kanwaljit Singh of the SAD, respectively.

Interestingly, whosoever — Preneet or Chandumajra — will be going to Parliament as a representative of people of Patiala, he or she would be hitting the political jackpot for the third time as both the candidates have been two-time MPs.

In fact, if the SAD stalwart is making all out efforts to taste the victory on the issue of development, Preneet has been banking upon her “clean image” as an MP and her family’s long standing ties with Patiala and Patialvis.

It is a different matter that her rival Chandumajra has been projecting her as an MP who, “never spoke” in Parliament.

Jalandhar, April 29
For the first time this year, Punjab Technical University (PTU) is not sending admit cards to the 26,300 CET candidates by post.

The candidates only have the option to download their cards from the university’s official site by filling up their form numbers.

The admit cards will bear the details of the examination centre where the candidate is scheduled to appear.

The candidates, who are scheduled to appear for the examination on May 3, will have to get a printed copy of the card and paste their passport size photo and get it attested from a gazetted officer.

Since the last date of filling up forms (with late fee) falls on April 30, admit forms will be uploaded till that day.

Further, to verify that the students paste their own photograph, the university
staff at the examination centres will have an option to match it with a list of roll
numbers bearing scanned photographs of each candidate, sent by them earlier
with their application.

The university has set up 93 centres. There is at least one centre in each district.

“Some cities like Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Bathinda have a long
list of applicants have seven-eight centres,” said dean, academics-cum-CET
coordinator, Dr VK Arora.

Sangrur, April 29
In the light of the current Lok Sabha (LS) elections, adopting a satirical method for consumers of poppy husk, liquor and other intoxicants by procuring these from candidates, the local Red Cross Nasha Chhadao Hospital has announced a “marvellous prize scheme” for them.

To spread the message against the use of intoxicants, the authorities of the drug de-addiction centre have distributed printed handbills in this regard among masses.

In the handbill, the de-addiction centre has announced the first prize as “maut” (death), the second prize as “cancer” and the third prize as “adhrang” (paralysis) for users of intoxicants.

It has also announced several other attractive “prizes”, which include destruction of health, TB and unemployment for life.

The centre authorities have also assured a guaranteed “prize” for every drug user.

The authorities have also announced that the “prizes” will be distributed by death god Yamraj at the cremation ground.

Chandigarh, April 29
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has found no fault with the 1994 selection of PCS (executive and allied services) officers.

Nearly 16 years after the selection process was initiated, the Division Bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Jitendra Chauhan has held: There is no material to indicate that the entire selection is vitiated.

In their petition, PC Chauhan and other petitioners had challenged the selection process on the ground that some of the candidates were related to the public service commission’s chairman or a member.

It was contended two candidates were related to a member. Another was reportedly an MP’s daughter.

One of the selected candidates was son of the then chairperson’s classmate, while one more candidate was the son of an ex-superintendent of police, having close links with a political party.

Going into the background, the petitioners asserted the results were published in newspapers of November 9, 1994, while the advertisement for filling up 64 posts of PCS (executive) through direct recruitment was issued in June 1993.

The preliminary test commenced from December 2, 1993, while the main examinations started from February 1, 1994. In all, 194 candidates were declared successful in the written test.

Taking up the case, the Bench observed: “The allegations pertain to a total of nine candidates, and the related candidates are only two. In view of the specific stand that the members who were related to the candidates did not participate in the interview, we do not find any ground to hold that their selection is vitiated. We also do not find any acceptable material with regard to the other candidates specifically named. There is, thus, no ground to hold that the entire selection was vitiated”.

The high court has now fixed May 28 as the next date of hearing the case.
A direction has also been issued to the state to finalise its stand on certain
backward class candidates.

The state has also been asked to indicate its stand on the claim of the petitioners to appoint them on the posts, which may become available due to cancellation of appointment of candidates in the backward class category.

Counsel RS Bajaj said after about four months of marriage, the father-in-law started raping the petitioner.

The petitioner was medically examined following which the FIR was registered against the accused. Justice Sabina has issued notice of motion for May 27.