Jalandhar, March 8
While local Congress leaders in general are happy over former MLA Raj Kumar Gupta rejoining the party during Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh’s Sunday rally, his departure from BJP is being seen as a big blow to Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia.

When contacted, Gupta said he had joined the Congress unconditionally and it was up to the party high command whether to allocate him ticket or not in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Gupta had left the Congress and joined the BJP in the presence of BJP leader Arun Jaitely during the last Assembly elections in 2007 on the issue that the Congress had not fielded even a single Hindu candidate from any of the 10 Assembly seats of Jalandhar district, especially from Jalandhar (Central) segment, where the Congress had always fielded a Hindu candidate.

The then sitting MLA from Jalandhar (Central) constituency, Gupta was himself an aspirant for the same seat, but he left the party when a former Improvement Trust Chairman Tejinder Bittu was allotted the ticket from the segment.

Meanwhile, to a query, he said senior party leaders might have realised their mistake that was why he was asked to rejoin the party. That was why, Capt Amarinder had said in the Sunday rally that all would be adjusted properly, he added.

Interestingly, at that time of leaving the Congress, Gupta went on to say that money had also exchanged hands for the allocation of the ticket on the seat.

Changing his stand about the allegation, he said one had to say something while leaving a party. “I was not alone who levelled these allegations that tickets were sold, there were many other Congress leaders who levelled the same allegations,” he added.

When asked about the reason for his now leaving the BJP, he gave very confusing replies. He said he had not joined the BJP at all. When asked about his joining the BJP in full media glare, he gave a surprising reply that he had announced joining the BJP in the presence of Jaitely, but he did not become even its primary member.

When asked that he had also remained the Chairman of the Small Scale Industry Board for sometime from the BJP quota during the current SAD-BJP government, he said he was made the Chairman when he had brought the matter to the notice of Jaitely that he was being ignored by the BJP.

This correspondent tried to get reactions from Kalia and Bittu on Gupta’s leaving the BJP and rejoining the Congress, but both of them were unavailable.

Gupta’s son councillor Pawan also rejoined the Congress along with his father during Amarinder’s rally.

Jalandhar, March 8
The two-day seminar on play writing held last week at Apeejay College of Fine Arts here saw renowned playwright and director Mahesh Dattani delivering the keynote address.

Dattani, who is credited with plays like ‘Where There’s A Will’, ‘Final Solutions’, ‘Dance Like A Man’, ‘Tara’ and ‘30 Days in September’, among others, has also directed widely acclaimed movies ‘Mango Souffle’ and ‘Morning Raga’.

Getting candid with the audience Dattani talked about the early influence of playwrights like Vijay Tendulkar, Girsh Karnad and others on him owing to which he was pulled towards theatrics.

“Theatre is a third parent to me that helped me discover my identity,” he said.

He said he was against typecasting theatre sensibilities by drawing western/Indian or regional/global comparisons. The playwright said: “Theatre means much more to me than films. Bollywood is a fake world driven by insecurities. I don’t see myself there.”

Here are some of the excerpts of his conversation with The Tribune:

Do you think Bollywood and theatre influence each other?

Yes, I think they do. Bollywood songs are played in many plays and Bollywood subjects are used as reference points. Indians relate to Bollywood a lot. It fascinates them. But somewhere I think it also poses the danger of excessive reliance on Bollywood. That might hamper originality though it might be a sellout.

Some playwrights associated with folk theatre say some of the theatre these days is all about playing a movie on the stage.

Yes, that is the kind of danger I’m talking about. I heard of this Jatra in Bengal where a glamorous actress was brought in to do a role and other filmy elements were added to bring in the crowds. There is no use of calling it folk theatre when you intend to rob it of its element.

Have you ever faced such allegations?

I neither do folk theatre nor I rely on Bollywood. I write what I believe in and truly feel for.

What do you think is the solution for regions which have neither folk nor urban theatre? How can such people be brought closer to theatre?

It has to start from them. Unless they are interested in taking up theatre and working for it, things won’t work. People from outside can only come and help them, but can’t make them feel for theatre.

What are your future plans?

I would like to restart my theatre company in Mumbai. I am presently writing on the script of my next production. 

Jalandhar, March 8
The Istri Jagriti Manch yesterday organised a rally and march highlighting sexual discrimination in various forms.

Scores of working women, carrying flags depicting a woman breaking apart the shackles of sexual discrimination, participated in the small, but impressive march.

After participating in a rally organised at Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall here, the members of the manch later submitted a charter of demand to the state government through the Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police to take notice of female foeticide and prevailing evil of drug addiction and alcoholism in the state.

Anita Peter of the manch demanded that the Central Government should reserve 50 per cent of employment opportunities under the MNREGA for women and demanded equal wage for women in all private and public sector undertakings.

Another senior leader of the manch, Gurbaksh Kaur, said special courts should be initiated to deal with the crimes like female foeticide and rape.

Jalandhar, March 8
Setting an example for the womenfolk on the International Women’s Day, women of Baada Salaam village of Nakodar tehsil here have given an ultimatum to the district administration to shift the liquor vend from their village by March 20 or they would dismantle the vend of their own.

They alleged that due to easy availability of liquor in the village, the entire environment of the village had turned alcoholic and is a major reason for increasing incidence of domestic violence in their village.

The vend is still open in the village despite the fact that the Baada Salaam panchayat has already passed a resolution in this regard and requested the authorities concerned to shift it out of the village boundaries.

“The village panchayat unanimously passed the resolution a few months ago. Despite the much uproar against the location of the vend, hardly any efforts were made by the administration since then to shift it from the village,” said Jaswinder Kaur, a village panch.

She alleged that the liquor shop is located near a religious place, where the village women go to worship every Thursday and have to put up with lewd remarks passed by drunkards who use to sit around the vend.

A group of women of Baada Salaam, led by the Jalandhar unit of the Istri Jagriti Manch, submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police (Rural) demanding to shift the vend from the village.

“We have verbally conveyed the administration that if it fails to act on our demand before March 20, the women of the village will dismantle the liquor shop,” said Asha Peter of the Istri Jagriti Mach.

Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Jalandhar-II, BK Virdi said the department would look into the matter.

Jalandhar, March 8
It was a nice little peek into Doordarshan Jalandhar’s good old days as renowned director and writer Harjit Singh enlightened the audience about ‘Building a Play’ at a seminar held at Apeejay College of Fine Arts, here on Friday.

A break from theoretical lectures, Harjit’s address was a glimpse into the art of building a play, as it was into his many creative experiences and DD gaffes.

He started with the stories about the way things were at DD Jalandhar back in the 1980s when there were no editing techniques and the plays were recorded live. Costumes were kept under cameras during shooting to facilitate a dress change without interruption. Since the two-inch video tape format used at that time couldn’t be transferred, all the shows recorded on it were lost. And after the incident when a hockey match was recorded on a tape that had an hour-long chunk of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s interview conducted by Amrita Pritam, Harjit decided to make ‘Anhoye’, based on Gurdial Singh’s popular novel by the
same name.

Directed by him in 2008 (years after his voluntary retirement from DD in 1998) and aired on DD a year later, Anhoye served as the basis for his lecture.

The lecture was accompanied by pre-production trivia with video chunks of ‘Anhoye’ being shown on the projector.

Harjit gave in-depth detail of the process of making the teleplay from the scene sheets of the characters to the background score by Sukhwinder Singh.

Since the play was set in the 1929-1950s period, he had to work on minute details like fabricating oil crushers, courts, vehicles and even British medals and buttons on costumes, which he dug out at the old bazaars of Delhi.

Other speakers on the occasion were RK Dahwan from University of Delhi); Ghashyam Sharma, former Reader, GND University; and NK Neb, associate professor, DAV College.

Jalandhar, March 8
Is the owner of a prominent hotel inf the city planning to join the Congress? Gautam Kapoor of Hotel Radisson was seen on the dais with Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh during the Congress rally at Jalandhar cantonment on Sunday.

Kapoor, wearing sunglasses, was seen seated in the front row of the dais along with Amarinder Singh and other senior Congress leaders. While addressing the rally, Amarinder mentioned the hotelier’s name as also that of other senior leaders.

Contacted after the rally, Kapoor told The Tribune that he had neither joined the Congress, nor was planning to do so in the near future.

To a query, he said it was for the second time that he had attended a Congress rally. The first one had been at Ferozepore.

Both Amarinder Singh and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal are reported to be close to Kapoor.

Sukhbir, who had inaugurated his hotel over a decade ago, prefers to lodge there during his stay in the city instead of the Circuit House. Amarinder Singh too would stay at Hotel Radisson when he was CM.

Jalandhar, March 8
The Paramedical Staff Joint Action Committee of the local Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Civil Hospital has condemned the move of the hospital administration wherein the nursing staff of the hospital has been ordered to prepare patients’ file during the night hours.

The representatives of the committee alleged that the staff nurses had to put up with a lewd behaviour of the caretakers of the patients, many of whom turn up at the hospital in an inebriated condition. Condemning the hospital administration, Jaswant Virli of the committee, said being qualified personnel, such nurses were primarily meant to provide care and treatment to the patients, reporting to the civil hospital emergency during the night hours.

“Work pertaining to furnishing of patients’ file can well be accomplished by appointing a clerk during night hours. Diversion of the technical manpower to non-technical work sounds a foolish step of the hospital administration,” he added.

Jalandhar, March 8
General secretary of the Punjab BJP Manjit Singh Rai said there could be changes in the allotment of ticket with even sitting MLAs, who had been non-performers, being denied a chance in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Rai said this during a media interaction after a meeting with district presidents and general secretaries of Majha zone at Circuit House here. The representatives from Amritsar, Mukerian, Dasuya, Moga, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala and Tarn Taran attended the meeting.

Jalandhar, February 8
A former Punjab minister and general secretary of the All-India Mahila Congress, Gurkanwal Kaur, demanded 50 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state Assemblies.

In the reply to a question that her party is in favour of 33 per cent reservation for women, is her demand of 50 per cent reservation beyond party line, she told mediapersons that she had been demanding 50 per cent reservations for women for several years.

Jalandhar, March 8
The Programme Staff Association of AIR and DD, which has more than 200 units all over India, organised its one-day zonal meeting here yesterday.

Sponsored by the zonal office of the LIC, the meeting was coordinated by zonal secretary Pradeep Kumar and Veersain Malik of AIR Jalandhar.

LIC Senior Divisional Manager Girish Kumar inaugurated the zonal meeting, which was attended by over 50 delegates, including association president Sanjay Kumar and its general secretary R. Srinivasan.

Speaking on the occasion, guest of honour AIR Station Director B.C. Panwar said the problems affecting the programme staff would be resolved at the earliest so as to fortify the concept of public service broadcasting in the country.

Phagwara, March 8
The police booked three travel agents on the charge of duping Jarnail Singh of Rs 8.5 lakh on the pretext of sending his son, Sandeep, to the UK.

The police arrested one of the accused, Sarabjit Singh, while his two accomplices, Asgar Ali and Harshkhabir, are still at large.

Jarnail Singh, in his complaint, alleged that trio made a deal of Rs 8.5 lakh for sending his son to the UK, but instead he was sent to Malaysia.

Nakodar, February 8
The Shahkot police arrested a man from Bawain Mohalla here for snatching the ear rings of one Bimla Devi of Malsian. As the snatcher tried to flee after the crime, he was chased by a youth, identified as Vikas, and finally nabbed and taken to the police station.

Vikas said another snatcher carrying a weapon had fled after an attempt to hit him. The snatcher was identified as Pawan of Mehtpur. A case has been registered.