Amritsar, October 27
Uncertainty looms large over the proposed visit to Pakistan of around 2,000 Sikh pilgrims from India to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November 2 at the historic birthplace of the Guru in Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.

What has complicated the situation for hundreds of Sikh devotees awaiting their visas is that on the one hand, the Home Ministry has allegedly delayed the clearance to the Sikh jatha and on the other, it has issued a travel advisory to Indian pilgrims to avoid visiting Pakistan.

The travel advisory has advised the Indian pilgrims to avoid travelling to Pakistan owing to the deteriorating law and order situation in the neighbouring country.

The SGPC that arranges for the visit of a majority of Sikh pilgrims from India to Pakistan-based Sikh shrines was aghast over the Home Ministry’s delay in giving clearance to the Sikh jatha for the second time within the past one year.

The SGPC had earlier planned to take a 1,360-member jatha to Nankana Sahib from October 28, but it had to change its plan and cut short the duration due to the directions of the Home Ministry that had allegedly advised the apex Sikh body to take the jatha from November 1.

“It can be an embarrassing situation for us if an early clearance was accorded to other splinter groups of Sikhs for their visit to Pakistan. The travel advisory can be justified for normal tourists but not for the Sikh pilgrims as they have to participate in an important religious event, according to a pre-scheduled programme.

Moreover, if Pakistan government can ensure security of Sikhs visiting Pakistan from other countries, why can’t they do it in the case of Sikhs from India? The Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and its leaders, who were making arrangements to receive the jatha from here, have conveyed to us that they were responsible for the security of our people and had already made arrangements in this regard,” said the SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, while talking to The Tribune.

Makkar said it was not for the first time that efforts were made to belittle the SGPC on the same issue. “Earlier, about six months ago, clearance was delayed by the Home Ministry regarding the visit of a jatha to Pakistan. We are awaiting clearance of a list of 1,360 Sikh pilgrims,” said Makkar. 

Chandigarh, October 27
Amarinder baiters in the Punjab Congress, comprising nearly the entire top leadership, today won a major victory with AICC secretary R. C. Khuntia assuring them there was no proposal to appoint a new state president.

Khuntia, during a closed-door meeting at the party office here, also told party leaders that the organisational elections, which would culminate in the appointment of a new PPCC president before March 31, would be held under the presidentship of incumbent Mohinder Singh Kaypee.

Even as the Amarinder camp boycotted the meeting, the AICC leader told the PPCC to submit a report on leaders who were not attending party programmes in the state. “I will forward this report to Sonia Gandhi”, he assured leaders who complained that former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his supporters were not cooperating with the PPCC. Khuntia maintained that the party was bigger than the individual, adding “you have the example of Bhajan Lal and Jagan (former CM Y. S. R. Reddy’s son) before you”.

Earlier district presidents, including Amritsar (urban) chief Jagjit Singh Sehdev and Sangrur chief Paramjit Singh Sibia, besides senior leaders Harnam Das Johar, Romesh Dutt and Rajya Sabha member Dharampal Sabharwal led the tirade against Amarinder Singh.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said, “We should rally behind the person chosen by Soniaji to lead us”. She gave her own example, saying she had led 32 legislators against Amarinder Singh to the party high command during the last Congress government but was firmly told that this was not accepted in the Congress. She said similarly the party high command did not bow to a signed petition by 45 legislators urging that Amarinder Singh be appointed CLP leader after the party’s loss in the last Assembly elections.

Former PPCC president Shamsher Singh Dullo also took a pot shot at Amarinder Singh, saying the Congress culture did not allow a panthic agenda. PPCC president Kaypee, when asked why the Amarinder group was missing, said he had invited everyone. Speaking about his handling of the PPCC presidentship, he said while 14 lakh members had been enrolled in the last drive, this time 21 lakh members would be enrolled.

Those who attended the meeting included Ashwani Sekhri, who also gave a brief on the recent party programmes, besides Sardool Singh, Brahm Mohindra, Gurbinder Atwal, Jagmohan Kang, C. D. Kamboj, Darshan Brar, Bal Mukand, Harminder Jassi and Parmindar Singh.

However, what must be of definite solace to the Amarinder camp is the fact that a majority of the legislators stayed away from the meeting. Also, the Beant Singh family, which was earlier identified with the Bhattal group, also kept away.

Moga, October 27
Reacting to the report, “Another Indira Awaas Yojna scam comes to light”, published in The Tribune on Tuesday, the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, asked the District Magistrate of Moga Satwant Singh Johal in the morning to conduct an on-the-spot inquiry into it.

Johal went to Madarpur and Sanghera villages in the evening. He inspected the houses and talked to the beneficiaries. “I have found that 28 out of the 33 beneficiaries were satisfied with the work done by the village panchayat of Sanghera,” he said.

However, it came to light during the inquiry that the village panchayat had on its own purchased the construction material -- bricks, cement, girders, sand, etc and got constructed the houses instead of directly giving money to the BPL beneficiaries for this purpose.

Though the money was not directly given to the beneficiaries, a majority of them expressed satisfaction over the work done by the panchayat, the District Magistrate claimed. Five beneficiaries alleged that the sarpanch had taken money (bribe) from them to complete the work of their houses.

The panchayat had left the houses incomplete and did not install doors, windows besides not undertaking the plaster work. While admitting this, the District Magistrate said the grant money was too less to complete the 13X15 feet room constructed by the panchayat.

With regard to six other complainants, Johal said they were not entitled for the grant as they already had pucca houses. “The village panchayat left them out and gave the grant to other people from the list of beneficiaries,” he added.

According to the broad outline and objectives of this scheme, in section 1.6 of chapter-1 outlined “strategy for the implementation of the programme”, it has been clearly written that this “programme would be implemented through the Zila Parishads/DRDAs and houses will be constructed by the beneficiaries themselves”.

Thus, the panchayat of Sanghera village clearly violated the guidelines but the village sarpanch Raj Kaur claimed that the beneficiaries had themselves requested her to get their houses constructed by the panchayat.

Overall, the DM said there was no foul play found in the Indira Awaas Yojna scheme in these villages. The prevailing factionalism between nambardar and sarpanch had led to the allegations, which “do not have much truth in them”, Johal added. 

Amritsar, October 27
Laying stress on restoring the primacy of research in Indian universities, Prof Govardhan Mehta, CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow and Honorary Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, said today that the tradition of research seemed to have lost its sheen and needed immediate correction.

Prof Mehta was here during the 35th annual convocation of Guru Nanak Dev University, where the Punjab Governor, Gen SF Rodrigues (retd), conferred upon him the DLit degree (Honoris Causa).

“The university had an enviable record of research output, but the tradition seemed to have lost its sheen,” said Prof Mehta, adding that the anomaly could be corrected through the restoration of the research ambiance. Meanwhile, over 650 degrees and medals were awarded in various disciplines during the convocation.

Presiding over the function, the Governor advocated the need for focused attention on quality education and research. He said a university had responsibility of building the nation through the enrichment of higher education system and it was, therefore, imperative that there was an ideal integration of programmes of teaching, research, work experience and community development to enhance professional competence of students.

Prof Mehta said India with 54 per cent of its population below the age of 30, was one of the youngest nations and in this context, higher education institutions, particularly universities, were the main instrument for transforming human resources into human capital.

He said to achieve this, the universities needed to rediscover the tradition of autonomy, independence, commitment and accountability.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Ajaib Singh Brar, said every institution of higher education always remained in a continuing evolutionary process and teaching and research were two important aspects of a university system.

An eminent Punjabi literary personality and novelist, Dr Gurdial Singh, was also awarded with DLit degree (Honoris Causa) on the occasion.

Chandigarh, October 27
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today allocated the portfolios of Public Relations, NRI Affairs, Defence Welfare, Public Grievances and Pensions to Sewa Singh Sekhwan. Sekhwan was inducted into the Punjab Cabinet at a minister on Sunday.

The Departments of Public Relations and NRI Affairs were so far vested in Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The Cooperation Department continues to remain with the Chief Minister. This is despite of the fact that Sekhwan has been inducted into the Cabinet in place of Captain Kanwaljit Singh, who died in a car crash earlier this year, but his portfolio has not been given to Sekhwan.

Sohan singh Thandal, who was sworn in as the Chief Parliamentary Secretary yesterday, has been attached to the Department Of Agriculture.

Chander Parkash adds from Sekhwan (Gurdaspur): MLA Sewa Singh Sekhwan said here on Tuesday that he became a minister as he was the unanimous choice of 
the party leadership, including party president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and Badal’s brother-in-law and MLA Bikramjit Singh Majithia.

Claiming that there was no differences or resentment among any section of the party cadre over his induction into the Punjab Cabinet by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, he said he was rewarded for his loyalty to the party and hard work put in by him and his late father.

Talking to TNS here, he said no one should draw any inferences from the fact that Sukhbir reached the swearing-in ceremony venue after it was over. He added that Sukhbir came especially from Delhi to attend the function and got late due to traffic problems.

Ludhiana, October 27
The much-hyped Rozgar Mela initiated by the government to help youth of the state to create job avenues for themselves provided information about obsolete options only leaving students disillusioned about the mela held here today.

The final year students of BCA, BCom, BSc and BA, who had gathered at Government College for Women here were told broadly about self -employment options, popular during yesteryear, like dairy farming, fisheries, mechanics and bank employment schemes.

For the students, who had come to look for a direction to shape up their careers in fields catching their fancy, the speakers left them disappointed. The speakers one after the other could not throw light on self-employment options beyond welding, computer typing, dairy farming, fish farming and the like.

A speaker even glorified a welding shop in a southern state being run by a woman. All such discussion put off the students. ‘‘We have come a long way now as our parents have already invested a lot on us to get us educated till graduation. The options they discussed should have been given to students who do not want to study beyond matriculation,’’ said a student of Government College of Women on condition of anonymity.

Similarly, a teacher also expressed her displeasure stating their students were emulating women like Kalpana Chawla, Indira Nooyi and Medha Patkar. But the speakers today could not do anything to help them think beyond the horizon.

The rozgar melas were specifically planned by the state government through its Employment Generation Training Department to motivate youth to create enterprise for themselves and at the same time generate opportunities for other unemployed persons.

On the other hand, one of the speakers defended the mela stating they were aiming to keep a check on brain drain. ‘‘If our talented youth can go abroad and take up menial jobs, they can surely utilise resources within the country and help their counterparts also, ’’ said a speaker.

Chandigarh, October 27
The alleged slow paddling of inquiries against charge-sheeted Ludhiana municipal officers by the state of Punjab has not gone down well with the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Virtually passing strictures against the state government, Division Bench of Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Mahesh Grover asserted: “The manner in which the government appears to be slow paddling the inquiries does not speak well.”

The observations came during the resumed hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) by Ludhiana resident Rajesh Inderpal and others, including NGO Resurgence India. The petitioners are seeking directions against the misuse of residential premises for commercial purpose in Ludhiana city.

Taking up the matter, the Bench observed Punjab Principal Secretary, Department of Local Government, had filed an affidavit pointing out that delay in conducting the inquiry against the officers charged with dereliction of duty was due to time taken in the appointment of inquiry officers. The charge sheets pertain to unauthorised constructions within Ludhiana municipal limits.

The Bench added: “A reading of the affidavit would show that in certain cases the charge sheet was served as early as in 2003. Some of the charge sheets were drawn even in 2005. We fail to understand as to why the matters were allowed to gather dust for such a long period, and who was responsible for delaying the appointment of the inquiry officers for all these years.

“If the officers facing inquiries are being accused of dereliction of duty, the same charge could be levelled against those who were supposed to make the appointment of the inquiry officers,” the court said.

The Bench added: “We would expect the inquiry officers to initiate proceedings at the earliest and conclude the same as expeditiously as possible. The inquiry officers would submit the status report of each inquiry every three months.”

Earlier during the hearing, the Bench was informed two inquiry officers JS Puri and Kanwar Gulwant Singh, both retired IAS officers, had been entrusted with the inquiries. State counsel Rupinder Khosla added the government had no intentions of shielding the delinquent from appropriate action, though there was some delay in making appointments. The case will now come up for hearing on January 18.

Patiala, October 27
Accusing the Patiala police of adopting a “casual” and “indifferent” approach towards her case pertaining to a property dispute, an NRI woman, Raminderjit Kaur Multani, has called upon Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to intervene in the matter and instruct the Patiala police to take necessary action. Apprehending threat to her life, Multani has shot off a letter to the CM demanding security cover for her family.

Speaking to The Tribune, Multani said she was a native of Patiala and had settled in Canada now. She said she and her mother-in-law Sital Kaur owned several properties worth crores in Canada and Patiala. “Documents relating to one of my properties in Patiala were forged by three of our relatives, who were our business partners. The matter was reported to the police and is now under litigation,” she said.

Claiming that the district police has cancelled the FIR registered against those named in the complaint, Multani said, “It is beyond my understanding on what grounds the police has cancelled the FIR.” Accusing the police officials of working under influence of those whose names figured in the complaint, Multani said she was receiving threat calls from the persons named in the complaint.

She said in order to get justice, she had now written to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. “We as NRIs feel insecure, as the accused are roaming free and hence I have requested the CM to instruct the Patiala police to provide us security,” she said. She said she would meet the CM personally also. Meanwhile, Patiala SSP Ranbir Singh Khattra was not available for comments despite repeated attempts.

Chandigarh, October 27
A bedridden doctor will now be examined by a local commissioner as a prosecution witness in connection with a criminal case.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set a precedent by directing the appointment of a local commissioner to examine the doctor suffering from disc problem, while taking up a petition by Gurdaspur resident Deep Raj Singh.

Justice SD Anand observed in connection with in the attempt to murder case dated October 20, 2002, that the trial court “noticed Dr Paramjit Kaur had reportedly gone over to Africa. On that premise, and also in view of the fact the prosecution had been granted last opportunity for adducing evidence, but it had not been able to produce any other evidence, the trial judge proceeded to order closure of the prosecution evidence”.

Justice Anand added: “The state counsel, under instructions from the local police, informs the court that Dr Paramjit Kaur has been bedridden ever since she returned to India.

“The accused faces charges under Sections 307, 326, 324, 323 and 34 of the IPC. Dr Paramjit Kaur is averred to have medico-legally examined the injured prosecution witnesses. The testimony of Dr Paramjit Kaur, by the very nature of things, would have fairly relevant bearing on the ultimate finding in the litigation. In the normal course of things, if a witness of that category is not available for making a statement, the court seized of the matter could resort to recording of the best alternative evidence. We need not, however, detain ourselves on this controversy because Dr Paramjit Kaur is averred to have returned to India in the meantime….”

“The state counsel says they shall have no objection if the trial court appoints a local commissioner for recording the statement of Dr Paramjit Kaur. In view of the consensual position, the petition shall stand allowed…. The trial court shall proceed to appoint a local commissioner to record the statement of bedridden Dr Paramjit Kaur in accordance with law,” the court said.