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Campaigning concludes
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Last ditch efforts on to woo voters
EC nod can overcome poll code hitch in conducting probe: DC
Liquor meant for luring voters seized
Mansa ready for polling day
Cong councillor’s house ransacked, over 12 rounded up
Jakhar refutes Jaitley’s charges
Pleasant weather forecast for May 7
Khemuana protest
Street play on voter
awareness
Rajasthan Diwas celebrated
Non-residents asked to leave dist
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Campaigning concludes
Bathinda, May 5 This was perhaps the only constituency among the 12 others in Punjab where intensive campaigning by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, SAD candidate and wife of Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, and Raninder Singh, Congress nominee and son of former CM Captain Amarinder Singh, was launched long before their candidature was finalised by their respective parties. Activists of the SAD and the Congress had started organising public meetings of the two candidates early this year when there was complete suspense over particularly the Congress giving ticket to Raninder Singh. The SAD announced candidates for the 12 other seats, but officially declared Harsimrat’s name only when the Congress had zeroed in on Raninder. The entire Badal family, including Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his wife Surinder Kaur and deputy CM Sukhbir Badal backed Harsimrat throughout this period by organising separate rallies. They successively campaigned in each of the 50 wards of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation and in other parts of the constituency. Amarinder Singh joined Raninder’s campaign very recently. His wife Rishma Kaur and cousin Ravneet Sidhu also campaigned for him. However, his mother Preneet Kaur was unable to visit here as she herself is locked in a contest with the SAD candidate for the Patiala seat, Prem Singh Chandumajra. Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Badal and Harsimrat Kaur jointly addressed largely-attended election rallies in the Sangat, Maur Mandi and Rama Mandi segments this afternoon before the campaigning came to a close. They had addressed rallies at Mansa, Budhladha and Sardulgarh yesterday. Captain Amarinder Singh, during the campaign, touched all Assembly segments in the constituency. Raninder Singh spent most of his time this afternoon visiting villages around the town and holding closed-door meetings with his confidants chalking out the strategy for the next two days. Initially, Harsimrat confined her campaign to eradication of social evils, like female foeticide and drug abuse. However, later, she touched upon other issues, including the current political scenario. On the other hand, the Badal family was the main target of Raninder Singh and Amarinder Singh in the Congress’ campaign. They accused Parkash Singh Badal of indulging in nepotism. Ironically, no political party effectively touched the sensitive issue of pollution of all sorts in the Malwa belt and particularly in this town. Residents of the town were facing the perpetual problem of fly-ash emitted by the thermal power station of the PSEB, contaminated drinking water and the neighbouring villages have come to known as the cancer belt of Punjab. However, the SAD and the Congress took these issues at the fag end of their campaigns. Rahul Gandhi, general secretary of the Congress, launched an election campaign here on April 14 during the Baisakhi Mela at Talwandi Sabo. Thereafter, Captain Amarinder Singh remained the star campaigner for his son. Visit of Sushma Swaraj, BJP leader, and cine star Hema Malini to campaign for Harsimrat was cancelled. But BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley came here and was followed by a road show by film stars Sunny Deol and Jitendra. Being the VVIP constituency, it was a headache for the district administration and the police maintaining peace and uninterrupted movement of the campaigners. Among 20 other candidates in the fray, the campaign of Hardev Arshi (CPI), Nem Chand Chaudhary (BSP) and Kiran Jeet Singh Gehri (LJSP) was only visibile. Bhagwant Singh Sumaon (CPI-ML) also has influence in some pockets of the Mansa district. |
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Lok Sabha Polls
Bathinda, May 5 During all the three rallies staged at Sangat, Raman and Maur mandis, the trio sought to appeal to the sentiments of the people over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots blaming the Congress for the massacre of Sikhs in the country. Then the 'unfortunate' attack over the Akal Takht Sahib was also dwelt at length. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, SAD (B) candidate for the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat said, "I still remember the days when the riots took place in Delhi. I was in school in those days in Delhi and went to see the riot victims. It was a different experience when I found a Sikh child wearing a patka begging there." "Now the Congress, by hurting Punjabi sentiments, has again given proxy tickets to the main accused of the riots to enter the Parliament. All this can never be tolerated by Punjabis. It is time to give a befitting reply to the Congress on May 7 by casting votes in the favour of the SAD-BJP to form an NDA government at the Centre," she added. In his speech, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said, "Tuhade pyar da karza main kade nahi laa sakda. It is just due to you that I have been the chief minister for the fourth time. Now, we all family members have been urging you to help Harsimrat Kaur win the Lok Sabha elections, with the promise that we shall do our best to fulfil all the promises made to you." To allure women voters, Parkash Singh Badal said, "Harsimrat is quite focused on issues related to women. So, all women present here should cast their votes for Harsimrat besides motivating the male members to vote for her." Speaking from the dais, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal urged people to lend support for the betterment of the constituency. "We have done our best for the development of the area. Now it is your turn to give us credit for the work that we have done considering it as our political and moral duty," he added. The three also lashed out at former CM Amarinder Singh and his son, Raninder Singh, and claimed that the SAD (B) would win by a margin of more than one lakh votes. Observing the gathering, it was evident that the SAD (B) leaders had made efforts to present a show of strength just hours before the campaigning came to an end. |
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Candidates reach out to first-time voters
Sriganganagar/Abohar, May 5 In Suratgarh, legislator Ganga Jal Meel visited some well populated villages to hold meetings with different groups as last minute effort to win their support for
the Congress candidate Bharat Ram Meghwal. Meanwhile, most of the dharamshalas and educational institutions in Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts have been acquired till May 7 to conduct the polling. The Hanumangarh DC has placed a physical training teacher Kani Ram of village Mandarpura in Nohar sub-division under suspension for abstaining from the final poll rehearsal. There will be dry day from Tuesday evening to May 7 evening and again on May 16 when counting of votes is to commence. All industrial houses have been asked to observe public holiday on May 7 with pay. The DC Naveen Jain informed that special buses for the polling staff will be plied from May 6 to 8. Polling parties will be dispatched from Guru Hari Krishan Public School on Wednesday. |
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Last ditch efforts on to woo voters
Bathinda, May 5 The supporters of two main rivals - the SAD-BJP and the Congress - have started giving finishing touches to their strategies, including the preparation of voter slips to be distributed among the voters. All liquor shops were ordered to be closed at 5 pm in the Lok Sabha segment. Similarly, the liquor vends falling in the vicinity of Bathinda and areas bordering Haryana were also closed. All senior leaders of different political parties campaigned for their respective candidates. They included Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary, Sheila Dikshit, Delhi Chief Minister for the Congress candidate, while for the SAD-BJP combine, Arun Jaitley, BJP general secretary, and cine stars Sunny Deol and Jitender came calling. Law and order is an important factor in the Bathinda LS segment since some major crime incidents had rocked the area in the panchayat and local bodies' elections last year. Captain Amarinder Singh's recent statement of poor law and order situation in the Bathinda constituency is a clear reflection of CM Parkash Singh Badal government's inability to protect people. Incidentally, rural areas are being said to hold the key. The candidates are paying special attention to villages of the constituency. |
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Songsters strike right note in poll din Bathinda, May 5 Most of the young crop of singers, including Masha Ali, Lovjeet, Shama Lovely, Gora Chakwala and Gurtej Kabal, had a tiring schedule as they had to give four to five performances every day. Mohammad Sadiq also regaled the audience with his chaste Punjabi duets in the Congress rallies. It was a treat listening to the traditional "Dhaadi Jathas" who through their melody narrated the glory of brave warriors in the election rallies of the SAD. They had to travel from one corner of the state to the other to perform in the election rallies. Now that the campaigning for the four parliamentary seats closed today, they would be confined to the remaining nine seats for a couple of days more. The rural audience in particular relished the singers performing in front of their eyes. Bigger names like Deep Dhillon, Gora Chakwala and Shama Lovely were engaged by the Congress, while Satwinder Bitti and Lovjeet performed at the rallies of the SAD. It is learnt that Shama Lovely, who normally charges anything around Rs 40,000 for each performance, was paid a lump sum of Rs 10,000 per day by the Congress. Gurtej Kabal against his normal payment of Rs 25,000 per show, got Rs 10,000 per day. However, the benefit for these artists was that they got bookings from the respective parties for a number of days. Mohammad Sadiq said he did not charge anything as he was himself was a Congress activist.
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EC nod can overcome poll code hitch in conducting probe: DC
Dalit woman exploited Moga: The Dalit woman, who faced sexual harassment and acid attack on her has gone missing for the past couple of days. Talking to The Tribune, Arvinder Kaur, daughter of the victim revealed that a head constable of the police came to their house on the evening of May 2 and took her mother away with him. Since then, the victim had not come back home, she said. "I have brought the matter to the notice of the local police in writing but no efforts have been made by the police to trace her mother,” she alleged.
— TNS
Moga, May 5 The DM said that he was the enforcing authority for the effective implementation of the model code of conduct of the elections. Therefore, it was not possible for him to travel or sit with any political figure. "The district administration is very much concerned about the unfortunate incidents faced by the Dalit woman and wanted to provide all sorts of help for her medical care and rehabilitation,” he said. If the Election Commission grants permission to the committee to record the statement of the victim and conduct a probe, there was no point in delaying this sensitive issue. Meanwhile, it was learnt that the SC Commission has written a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab seeking a clarification on this issue, the reply of which was still awaited. |
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Liquor meant for luring voters seized
Bathinda, May 5 According to information available, receiving a tip-off, the CIA staff in joint operation with DSP (City) and Kotwali police raided a gowdown near Multania overbridge here this evening. After searching the premises, 384 sealed cartons and 100 bottles of four different brands of Punjab made liquor (PML), namely, Heer, Raat Di Rani, Tangi Santra and Punjab Rasbhari, were seized. Confirming the details, DSP (City) Dilbaag Singh said, “We received a tip-off that Congressmen have stored liquor to distribute among the voters. During the raid, we nabbed Jatinder Kumar, a caretaker of the godown from the spot. The owner of the building Jagtar Singh, a Congressman, is still at large.” “A case under section 61 (1/14) of the Excise Act has been registered against the duo and we have started conducting raids to nab the absconding Jagtar Singh.” It may be mentioned that the accused Jagtar Singh, among five others, was also booked late on Monday night. In that case, some SAD (B) activists had charged them with wrongfully confining and intimidating them. Jagtar, along with one of the accused, was arrested on the spot but was bailed out today in the morning. On the other hand, lodging a complaint before the Chief Election Commissioner, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee today disclosed that on Monday evening, the Akali workers had come in two vehicles, an Innova and and a Fiesta and were seen distributing money among people living in the slums on Dhobiana Basti road. However, when some Congress workers reached there, they fled and the police did not attempt to nab them. The PPCC accused the Shiromani Akali Dal of distributing liquor and money among the voters in Bathinda parliamentary constituency. The activists of the PPCC mentioned that despite the issue being brought to the notice of the authorities, no action had been taken and culprits were being let off. |
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Mansa ready for polling day
Mansa, May 5 All polling parties would go to polling booths on May 6 from the Government Nehru Memorial College,
Mansa. Altogether 452 polling booths have been set up and nearly 2500 employees would be deploy in the district. 4,82000 voters would exercise their franchise on May 7. He said that four CRPF companies had been deployed along with other security forces at the polling booths. Along with this, videographers and micro observers are also deployed to check the all proceeding during polling. The voters, who do not have voter identity cards can use other proofs, including passport, driving license, PAN card, service identity cards and bank post office and Kissan pass book which should be valid till February 2, 2009. |
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Cong councillor’s house ransacked, over 12 rounded up
Abohar, May 5 As per information available, Chahar and Singhmar had reportedly exchanged hot words inside the local Election Office of the Congress candidate Jagmeet Singh Brar. Singhmar said some visiting newspersons in the police station "a meeting of the Kumhar Sabha was convened in the Mohindra Cold Store located on Abohar-Sriganganagar road today to express resentment over the "treatment' meted out to Singhmar. Jagmeet's younger brother Ripjit Singh Brar, MLA, was also present. More than 400 persons of the Kumhar community attended the meeting. Ripjit reportedly offered to defuse the tension between the warring groups. Some of those present moved to Chahar's residence using five vehicles but he was not present there. Later, a clash took place at the residence of the local MLA, he reportedly said. Chahar and other Congressmen alleged that about fifty persons led by Luxmi Narain Singhmar reached his residence located close to Major Surinder Park and indulged in pelting of stones shouting abusive language, damaged flex sheet gate, glass panes of the drawing room in his absence. The miscreants had reached the residence of legislator Sunil Jakhar in South Avenue by the time Chahar drove on getting phone calls. They indulged in shouting slogans again and tried to force entry but were pushed back. Meanwhile, the police rushed in and took more than 12 miscreants into custody while others managed to flee. MC president Shiv Raj Goyal and other BJP workers visited the city police to express solidarity with the members of their community. However, no case had been registered till this evening, the police said. |
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Jakhar refutes Jaitley’s charges
Abohar, May 5 Not a single complaint had been lodged by the BJP with the authorities during or after the polling held in February 2007, he said. Launching a counter attack, the Congress legislator said Jaitley had unwillingly joined the last phase of the election campaign for May 7 polling, as his seniors were not available for this region. Jaitley had not refuted the media reports that he had suffered humiliation at the hands of SAD since Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as the latter had not even contacted Jaitley, in-charge of the election campaign in Punjab, on phone for participating in the "Dhanyavad rally" organised by the SAD in Ramlila Grounds in New Delhi after winning the Vidhan Sabha elections. And now Jaitely had air-dashed to the region to give a lesson to the warring factions of the saffron party, who were unhappy over the step-motherly treatment given by the SAD leadership. The poor turn out should be an eye opener for the BJP leadership, which had virtually mortgaged its principles along with grass root cadre with the "big brother" in the alliance. Jakhar sought to remind the BJP national secretary that the SAD leaders had even assaulted BJP workers while rigging the PRI and civic elections in Bathinda and other districts but the high command advised the affected cadre to forget and forgive since no other option was available. |
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Pleasant weather forecast for May 7
Bathinda, May 5 The news emanating from the weather room is that the prevailing weather conditions — pleasant from the common man's point of view — is likely to continue in the next three to four days in the region. The weather is likely to be dry and clear and the mercury may hover around 35-39 degrees Celsius on May 7, as per weather forecast made by the IMD Chandigarh and received by the Agro-MeT Advisory Services, PAU, Bathinda on Tuesday. The day's minimum may range between 16.8-19.6 degrees Celsius. The weathermen said there is possibility of partial cloudy conditions with dust storms and slight rainfall in isolated parts in the region on Wednesday, but the condition would improve on Thursday. Interestingly, if the mercury behaves in the way as predicted by weathermen, it would be a complete deviation from its normal behaviour on the day during the last eight years. The day's normal on May 7 is 40.3 degrees Celsius and the mercury had recorded 45 degrees Celsius in two years during the period; to be precise 45 degrees and 45.5 degrees in 2002 and 2006 respectively. In addition to this, except for the year 2003, the mercury had never recorded below 40 degrees Celsius mark during the eight years. As far as the prevailing weather conditions are concerned, the mercury, dipping considerably, settled at 33 degrees Celsius on Tuesday to give much respite to the residents from the scorching heat as the region was on the boil last Saturday when temperature shot up to a record 43.5 degrees Celsius mark. The day's minimum was 19 degrees Celsius. Mercury adopted a southward trend from Sunday when it recoded 38.5 degrees Celsius and dipped further on Monday to settle at 35.4 degrees. |
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Bathinda, Ferozepur boys make it to IAS
Bathinda, May 5 Bansal, a MBBS doctor, had last year cleared the exam for the IPS and was presently undergoing training at Hyderabad. Bansal has done his father, Dr B.P. Bansal, a famous dentist here, and mother Kusum proud. They say that Nitin has always been a meritorious and hardworking student from his school days in the St. Joseph’s Convent. He says one should be target-oriented, dedicated and hardworking if one wants to get through the civil services examination. There is a need to strike a balance between “hard work and smart work”, he adds. Sharanjit Kaur Brar, a girl from a Bathinda village, has also passed the civil service examination this time. Ferozepur: If there is a dream to pursue and a dauntless spirit to achieve success, no impediments can deter you from reaching the pinnacle of glory. This is true of local boy Neeraj Soi, who with his sheer hard work and dedication has made it to the elite civil services, the results of which were declared yesterday. Son of Vinod Soi and Kanchan Soi, Neeraj, a compute engineer by profession, passed out from the local Shahid Bhagat Singh College of Engineering and Technology. His father Vinod Soi has a fertilisers and agriculture equipment business. Talking to The Tribune, his father Vinod Soi said Neeraj was preparing for the civil services exams for the last two years. Meanwhile, relatives and friends converged at the Soi’s residence here to congratulate the proud parents. His uncle Ravi Soi said Neeraj was the first one from the family to enter the civil services. |
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Khemuana protest
Bathinda, May 5 The deceased Mithu Singh (45), son of Nihal Singh, has left behind three daughters and two sons. With his death, the number of dead has risen to two. The condition of Jasvir Singh, another injured, is also reported to be serious. It may be recalled that the labourer community in the village is boycotting the ensuing elections. They are protesting against the police inaction in the case where seven of the eight labourers, including Mithu Singh, got injured and one died on the spot when on April 16, the overloaded car in which they were being transported to Khemuana mandi rammed into a stationary tractor-trailer near Jeeda village. It is also worth mentioning that a case was registered only after the labourers gheraoed the Nehianwala police station for two days. Resham Singh, nephew of the deceased, said it was really shameful that there was no listener to the down-trodden labourers' plight. He added that the police has yet to take action on the case and had told them that the arrest of the car driver would be made after May 7, the day of elections. Gurpreet Singh, the president of the 10-member committee established to pursue the case, said with the second death and no political leader visiting them for sharing their sorrow, the community had been disheartened further. He added that the stir would be intensified if the police remained mum even after the polls. Despite several attempts, Daljeet Singh, SHO, Nehianwala police station, could not be contacted for his version. |
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Street play on voter
awareness
Abohar, May 5 Scripted by Bhupinder Utreja, the play was directed by Vikas Batra. Vishnu Narayan, Sunil Verma and Maneesh Kumar played key roles giving the people a strong message to rise above caste, creed, communal leanings and reject corrupt candidates irrespective of their political association. The play also tried to convey the message that vote is the most powerful instrument in nourishing the democracy. |
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Rajasthan Diwas celebrated
Hanumangarh/Abohar, May 5 The paintings, which depict the unique culture of the state of the warriors have a reason to amaze the visitors, who normally find the government buildings poorly maintained or even stinking. District Collector Naveen Jain, who had recently hit the headlines for his decisive campaign against drug trafficking, has not confined the beautification drive to the gallery around his office but said today that such paintings will soon be put up in the meeting hall, court room and upstairs. None of the walls should look blank, he asserted.
— OC |
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Non-residents asked to leave dist
Ferozepur, May 5 He said this was being done as per the instructions of the EC. He further said that action would be initiated against those who will not follow the orders.
— OC |
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